His Worst Nightmare
by Jeice Lover
Summary: He keeps on running, but he cannot escape the terror he has discovered, as it continues to haunt him, even in his dreams. Now, even outside his dreams the darkness of mind and hearts haunts him, never ceasing, and leading him further from the truth.
1. Chapter 1

Running... running... running... this was the only thing he could think as his feet continued to his the pavement. His lungs ached and his feet were sore, but he just kept on running. What he was running from, he didn't know what. There was no logic to any of it. However, he could feel the sweat dripping down his brown and the aching soreness in his body, so he was sure it wasn't just a dream.

He saw a light far away, a bit closer and he could see that the light was coming from a door. It seemed like it was getting closer, even closer than it should have with the speed he was running at. He reached out a hand, eager to her there, but was thrown back as an explosion blasted him off his feet. Miraculously, his glasses didn't fall off from the impact. He lay there with his eyes closed to try and catch his breath. When he was able to look back at the door, his eyes widened with fear.

The doorway was blocked by fire, but not just any fire. No, these flames were bright blue, the flames that had haunted his nightmares ever since he was little. These were the flames that had taken his parents away from him. The blue flames of Satan. He was on his back and tried to scoot away on his elbows. He felt a sharp pain in one of his arms when he tried and realized that one of them was broken. Still, he used his remaining good arm to try and get away, away from the evil fire that took away his family.

He felt his hand touch something and stopped cold. Almost in slow motion, he turned his head to see what he had touched. The sight his eyes found almost made him vomit. His hand lay upon the head of a woman, only her head. Her body was nowhere in sight, and her eyes were wide open, staring at nothing. In terror and shock he yanked his hand away as if the body was electrified. He tried to scoot back again, only to run into someone's legs.

The person fell over on top of him, their face landing only a few inches from his. Both the man's eyes and mouth were wide open, he was bleeding profusely from everywhere on his body. He pushed the dead man off of him and managed to get to his feet. His legs were wobbly and threatened to collapse out from under him, but he managed to get them to run. He ran and ran, not looking at anything else around him, his only thought was to get away from the terrifying images he had left behind.

Finally, however, his legs gave way and he fell to the ground again.

"_Konekomaru..."_ The whisper was dry as death, but also strangely familiar. He looked and saw someone lying on the ground. The person turned their head, and he realized it was Shima. "_Konekomaru, help me..._" He tried to crawl, do anything to get away from the ghastly figure of his friend. Shima's body was mutilated beyond belief and half the face was burned, thought he other half was still recognizable.

"No, no, this isn't you. Shima..." He heard the tears in his voice and felt them running down his face, tasted them on his tongue. "This isn't... it's not you... You're not dead!" He tried to get up and fell on someone. He got on one elbow and saw that he was lying across the body of his other friend. "B-b-bon?" His big friend turned his head slowly, like some monster or demon in a night mare. His face was a maze of slashes, burns, and bruises until he was hardly recognizable.

"**Konekomaru... Why didn't you help us? Why did you stay behind...**" He rolled off the body of his friend and scooted away.

"No, no... Mom, Dad, Shima, Bon... I-... I- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Konekomaru woke with a scream and sat upright. He was drenched in cold sweat and and was breathing heavily. His glasses were still on the bed-side table where he had put them and he held on to his chest, looking at the blankets with very blurred vision. A doctor was next to him and looked surprised to see him awake.

"Oh, you're up. That sounded like one heck of a nightmare kid, you were talking and yelling in your sleep for hours. You may have been having a bad reaction to the anesthesia. I had just come in to hook you up to some more."

"So... it was all just a dream?" The doctor nodded and he sighed with relief. "Thank goodness." Just outside the window however, something was watching him. Something with a dark aura and glowing red eyes.

_Heh heh heh... Such fear..._

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><p>For those who don't know what the setting is, this is in the time Konekomaru is in the hospital after the fight with Amaimon. That's why his arm is broken.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

The sun shone brightly overhead, glinting off of Konekomaru's glasses. He stretched out a bit in order to stretch out his muscles. He had been laid up in bed for almost a week, so it felt good to be up and walking around after lying down for so long. He shifted his broken arm in its' cast a bit so it would be a bit more comfortable in the sling.

"Hey! Koneko-san!" Konekomaru turned and saw Shima and Bon walking up to him, smiles on their faces. "We heard you got out of the hospital today, so we thought we'd come and meet up with you." Konekomaru smiled at his friends' thoughtfulness, it was things that they did like this that made him the happiest.

"Thank you." Shima smiled and pulled Konekomaru into a headlock.

"D'aww! Don't mention it buddy." Konekomaru winced as his bad arm was jostled and hit Shima's stomach.

"Ow," he whispered. Bon heard it, though, and separated Shima from Konekomaru.

"Alright, that's enough Shima. So, Konekomaru, you ready to get back to the dorm?" Konekomaru nodded that he would. "Alright, let's get going then." Shima and Bon started up a conversation with each other, so Konekomaru walked slower until he was in the back of them so as not to disturb their conversation. A slight chill went down his neck, giving him a feeling as if he was being watched.

He stopped walking and turned his head to look behind him, but he saw no one behind them. He stared for a few seconds, then shook off the feeling as mere paranoia and hurried up his steps to make up for the ones he had lost while standing still. Even as he caught up to his friends, he still had the vaguest feeling of eyes boring into the back of his head. Unknown to him, in a bush not too far behind them, a pair of glowing red eyes narrowed, and an evil chuckle sounded in the air.

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><p>Konekomaru sighed heavily. Not long after they had all completed their homework for the day, both Shima and Bon had excused themselves to go and do some things that they had planned earlier on, leaving Konekomaru alone in their shared dorm room. While it felt good to be back in familiar surroundings, he didn't like being left alone again. He had expected to be able to hang out with his friends again, not to be left alone to his own thoughts like he had in the hospital.<p>

After about half an hour of sitting and re-reading the same manga, he finally decided to get out and walk around. He had had enough of doing in the hospital, thank you very much, and he didn't want to do any more of it than he had to. So he put down his book, slipped his prayer beads into his pocket, and went out.

It was a very pleasant summer day, all of the plants were blooming and green, and the animals were all out doing whatever they were up to. He looked into a bush and almost could have sworn that he saw the outline of a rabbit moving about. A few birds fluttered overhead, twittering their bird-songs.

_It's so peaceful out here. It's really nice,_ Konekomaru thought as he closed his eyes. However, they snapped open when he heard another sound, far from the peaceful sounds of nature he had been hearing. He followed the sound to its' source and found it to be a small kitten clinging to a tree branch. It was a tiny thing with a bright orange coat that identified it as a tabby. It was meowing loudly, crying for someone to get it down. _Poor thing, it's stuck._ Konekomaru glanced quickly down at his arm, which was secured safely in its' sling, and went towards the tree.

Luckily its' branches weren't very far from where he was, so he could easily climb it, even with his broken arm. It was slow going since he only had the use of his good arm, but it was steady progress. He stopped to catch breath when he was finally high enough to be level with the stuck kitty. He looked at the tiny creature, which now had its' eyes set on him, warily examining him.

"Here kitty, kitty, come here," he called softly to it. The cat still looked at him, but folded its' ears back against its' head. "Come on, I'm not going to hurt you." Still the cat did not move, it was still clinging to the branch in fear of falling, and it stayed in place as it didn't trust Konekomaru. With a determined face, Konekomaru slowly began to inch his way out to the cat, careful not to hit the cast his arm was in. When he was only a foot or so away from it, he reached out to it again. "Come here, it's okay, come on, kitty kitty?" The cat, which had been watching his progress, was still wary, but curious. Determined to get the cat down with him, Konekomaru lay down with his stomach on the branch, released his grip on said branch, and reached his arm out to the cat.

The feline craned its' head forward a bit and sniffed his fingers, ears slowly coming up off of the top of its' head. With one final sniff, it began moving a bit towards him, little by little, until he was able to grab it by the scruff of its' neck. It initially resisted a bit, but then relaxed when he had it in his arms and began scratching it under the chin. It was soon purring and rubbing against him.

_Perfect. Now all I have to do is get down from here._ However, just as he finished thinking this, he heard a sharp snap, like a firecracker going off. He realized that it was the branch just as it broke off from the tree, making him plummet to the ground. Konekomaru cried out and held the cat to his chest, hoping to shield it at least a bit when he made impact with the ground. He closed his eyes and braced himself for when the wind was knocked out of him when he hit the ground. It never came.

Instead of feeling a sudden jarring stop, it felt like something had caught him and was gently lowering him to the ground. He opened his eyes when he finally felt himself being placed into the grass. He realized with a gasp that, instead of landing on top of the branch, he had actually been placed a few feet away from it. He heard a noise coming from his arms and realized that he had been squeezing the cat. He apologized to it and loosened his hold so it would be more comfortable. It was soon purring and rubbing against him once again.

_How on Earth?_ He shivered as he felt the same eyes from earlier on him once again. He turned to look, but this time, he saw something. It appeared to be a crow, but it looked wrong. Instead of glossy black feathers and glassy eyes, its' body seemed to be made completely of shadow, and its' eyes were an eerie glowing red. It clicked in his mind almost immediately._ It's a demon,_ he though. Almost instinctively, he tried to reach for his holy beads, but a voice echoing in his head stopped him cold.

_**Why are you so frightened? Do I scare you? **_Konekomaru looked right at the crow and narrowed his eyes.

"Are you talking to me?"

_**Of course. Really, though, I don't know why you're so scared of me. I mean you no harm, I did just save you after all**_.

"You mean... you're the reason I didn't get hurt when I fell out of that tree? But... you're a demon, why would you help me?"

_**And you can see me, meaning that you have had past experiences with demons, am I right?**_ Konekomaru didn't know how to respond to that, so he bit his lip instead. **_As for your questions, yes, I caught you and brought you down so you wouldn't break another bone, as it seems you already have_**. Even though its' red eyes had no pupils and its' head was only looking in Konekomaru's general direction, Konekomaru could tell that the bird-demon was looking at his cast._** As for your other question, not all demons are horrible monsters. I only wish to help you, and, perhaps, to gain your trust.**_ Konekomaru placed the cat on the ground and turned away from it.

"Sorry, but I don't trust filthy demons. Especially ones as suspicious-looking as you." With that, he walked away, leaving the cat to scamper off, and the bird-demon behind.

_**Very well, if that is what you say. However, if you require my assistance, simply call for me, and I shall be there. My name is Gale.**_ Konekomaru turned his head so he could glance back at the demon, but saw nothing where it was a second ago. He shook his head, looked at the ground, and started the walk back to the dorm building.

Gale sat, still watching the boy as he trudged down the paved pathway. _**You do not trust me now boy, but in time, you will. I can sense all of your fears, your worries, your hatred. Your mind is strong, but your heart is weak and wounded, and that is the strongest weakness of all, and my favorite. And when you do trust me, I shall take over your body, and your soul**_.

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><p>I had originally intended this story to be a one-shot, but thanks to the asking by anonymous reviewer MrMs Ravensoul, I have decided to make this a multi-chapter story. Yes, I know a lot of you didn't like the filler episode where Gale appeared, but I assure you, this will be far from the episode's ending. I'll try to make my story have better plot progression, and make Konekomaru have a bit of a better character change. I can't promise anything, but I will try my best.

On a closing note, I only want to say, with no exaggeration, that your reviews are what keep me full of ideas and help me to keep motivated and keep writing. So, if you have any suggestions, feel free to put them in a review, and I'll look them over. Thanks again, and happy reading!


	3. Chapter 3

For an explanation on why this chapter had been deleted yesterday, scroll down to the bottom.

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><p>Konekomaru sighed as he pulled the cool covers up to his chin. It was now about 9, and neither Bon nor Shima were back at the dorm yet. He had tried to wait for them by studying and occupying himself in other things, but in the end, he just decided to take a bath and go to bed. Now that he was in bed, waiting to fall asleep, he felt like he was in the hospital all over again. Only this time, he was alone in an empty place that should have been filled by his best friends. He sighed once more and turned to his other side to try and get more comfortable. He was curled up under the covers, his arms against his chest and his legs curled up into him so he was in a neat little ball, almost like a kitten. Oh, Bon and Shima had joked and prodded at him about that. It was all in good fun, though, so he wasn't mad about it.<p>

Still, something else other than the loneliness held some weight in his mind. It was that demon he had met while on his walk earlier. It had unnerved him greatly when it had spoken to him, but he had tried his best to hide it. While it had been speaking, it had felt like small tendrils of darkness were snaking through his mind, prying into the deepest depths of his consciousness. Even now he shivered when he remembered the feeling. He had been immensely relieved when he had gotten away from it, though, now that he looked back, he thought that he maybe should have tried to exorcise it, it hadn't looked all that strong. But, that awful feeling he had gotten...

He mentally shook himself and forced his eyes shut. It would be a long day tomorrow, and he needed to get his rest. Regardless, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't drift off. With a groan, he uncurled himself and sat up in his bed. He groped for the lamp next to his bed until he managed to turn it on, then put on his glasses as he rubbed his head. Perhaps some reading would calm him down and help him sleep. He reached for a book that Bon must left on his side-table the day before and looked at the title as he picked it up. The cover read '_Poetry: In Light and Dark_'. He shrugged, it was better than nothing. He looked at the poem titles in the table of contents, then just gave up and flipped to a random page.

On the top of the page he had landed on was printed, in large italic letters, _The Coming Nightmare_. It didn't exactly sound like an ideal thing to read before bed, but he just decided to go with what he had. He began to read...

Shiver, shiver, creak and creep,

That's all that she can hear.

She doesn't want to go to sleep,

There's nightmares coming near!

She tosses, turns from side to side,

It doesn't seem to end.

Horrors wait, their time they bide,

Dark messages to send.

He stared at the poem as he had reached the halfway point. It was eerie, but he felt like he could relate to this poem. It seemed to perfectly click with something inside him. His mind told him to put the book down, but he continued reading anyways.

She falls into deep, troubled sleep.

She wants to wake, frights want to keep.

Brightly shimmer bitter tears,

Terrified, she screams.

Her mind plays with all her fears,

Even in her dreams.

Hidden from the troubled eyes,

Paranoia brings slow demise.

Shiver, shiver, creak and creep,

That's all that she can hear.

She doesn't want to go to sleep,

There's nightmares coming near!

With a grunt, he slammed the book shut and placed it a little forcefully on the bed-side table. His heart pounded, but he had no idea why that poem made him so scared. He placed his glasses back on the table and clicked off the light. _Maybe it was a bad idea to read that poem after all_, he thought. _I'm gonna have a hard time falling asleep tonight_. However, surprisingly, he didn't. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he started drifting off. _Why... why am I so tired now? I can't... stay... awake..._

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><p>When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a dark place. It was bright enough to see a bit, but he couldn't see very much. He turned as he thought he heard something swishing behind him. He clutched his arms to himself as the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees all of a sudden. He breathed out, and was surprised when he saw his breath rise as mist. He was in shock, surely it couldn't have gotten that cold so fast.<p>

**What's the matter boy, feeling cold?** Konekomaru jerked around, looking for the source of the voice. It was smooth as silk and rich like dark chocolate. Still, it had an unnerving edge to it. Something... dark. **I see, so you don't like the cold. Well, that's a nice little fact.** The temperature seemed to drop even more as these words were spoken, making Konekomaru feel like his very core was freezing solid. His breath came out shaky as he shivered. **Are you afraid? Well, I suppose you should be. Now, what else are you afraid of?**

Konekomaru clutched his head as he felt that something was crawling through his mind. It happened slowly, but he became aware of a sinking feeling. He looked down, and cried out when he saw his feet sinking into the ground. He tried to stagger out of the pit he was sinking into, but his feet were stuck fast. Just as he had begun to question how he could have gotten so stuck in just mud, a dark shape, like that of a hand, reached out and grabbed onto his leg.

It was all he could do just to stifle a scream of terror. He reached down and tried to free himself, only to have a hand grab onto his wrist. He closed his eyes, wishing for all of this terror to disappear. He knew it was a dream, it had to be, for he had experienced this many times before, just like his dream when he had been in the hospital. Despite the number of times he had the dreams, however, they never decreased in the level of fear they had brought him. He cried out for help, just as he had so many times before, and he knew none would come.

But this time, he looked behind him. Behind and above him, since he had now sunk halfway into the bubbling darkness, stood Shima and Bon, looking down upon him. He struggled, pulled a hand out of the muck, and reached for them.

"Shima... Bon... Please, help me!" They only stood there, mocking him by standing close enough to help, but doing nothing.

"Why should we," Shima asked in a cold voice, "you've never done anything to help us before, you little coward." His words hit Konekomaru like bullets.

"Exactly." This time it was Bon who had spoken. "You're nothing but a little weakling who can't even defend himself. Why should we bother to help someone as pathetic and helpless as you?"

Once again, Konekomaru reached out for his friends, but neither reached for him. By now he was up to his waist in the dark matter. One more dark hand climbed up and grabbed his shoulder in an iron grip and pulled him down... down... down...

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><p>He awoke with a sharp cry. The hard grip was still on him. But instead of a hand made up of shadow and dark, it was Bon's hand. The real Bon, not the cold, harsh one from his dream. Shima was standing behind Bon, and while Konkomaru's vision was blurred a lot because his glasses were gone, he could tell that they both looked very worried.<p>

"Hey, Koneko, you alright? You looked like you were having a bad dream," Shima said. Bon nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I'm... I'm fine, it was nothing. You guys don't have to worry, I'm fine now." His two friends looked at each other for a moment, then nodded and agreed. They both said goodnight to Konekomaru and went to their own beds. With one more sigh, Konekomaru turned over in bed, mindful of his broken arm, and curled up once more. Only, this time, he was afraid to fall asleep.

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><p>Outside, not too far from the window, Gale sat, staring at the smallest monk. If it could have, it would have smiled. <strong><em>So easy. It is just so easy with humans like you. Just keep on holding and hiding your fears from your little friends. Fear grows with isolation. The more you harbor this fear, the greater it becomes. And the stronger I'll be when I take you.<em>**

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><p>Okay, let me explain why this chapter was taken down yesterday. I had received a few reviews yesterday from my #1 reviewer on this fic (you know who you are) about my using the poem she had sent in an earlier review. I'm flattered that you think so highly of my writing btw. Regardless, she had also sent a little something mentioning how her school grade might be affected if her teacher found this on the internet. Well, I did a search on it myself, and I found that it was one of the first things to pop up. So, in order to prevent this plagiarism accusation, I took down the chapter for a while to assure that her grade wouldn't be dropped. That's the only reason, nothing more, nothing less (school is very important to me after all.)<p>

Well, now that explanation is done, I hope you're all liking the story so far. In order to make up for that little fright I may have given some of you by taking this down yesterday, I swear that I will have two new chapters up by the end of the week! I hope that makes up for any worry I may have caused. Well, I hope all of you will continue to read faithfully (and maybe add a review or two as well). One more thing, thanks to Ms Ravensoul once again for use of your poem, I really did love it; and I'll take your suggestion into consideration for when the fic' is nearing its' end. See you all next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

Konekomaru stared at his reflection in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. It was morning once more, and he found himself alone yet again. Bon had gone out on his morning jog, and Shima was still fast asleep. Now that he thought about it, he spent a lot of time by himself. When he was younger he wouldn't have minded, but now it just made him feel lonely. He picked up his cup of water and sucked some into his mouth to swish around and spit to remove the toothpaste.

_**Alone again?**_ Konekomaru was so startled by the voice behind him that he choked on the water in his mouth. He bent over the counter and coughed into the sink, spraying droplets of toothpaste and water into the sink. When he stood back up and turned around, he found himself looking at the same demon he had come across yesterday.

"You again," he said in surprise. Gale did nothing, only continued to stare at him without so much as blinking.

_**Yes, it is me once again. And you also appear to be on your own once again.**_ Konekomaru reached into his pocket for his beads, but he suddenly remembered that he hadn't taken them with him when he had left the room to brush his teeth. He swore inwardly, now feeling defenseless against the demon he was currently having a sort of staring contest with.**_ Why do you fear me?_**

"I'm not afraid," Konekomaru said, sounding much calmed than he actually felt at that moment, "I was just trying to remember what chant to use to get rid of demons like you." He could hear Gale's dark chuckle echoing in his head.

_**I highly doubt that, boy. You know, I truly am not here to hurt you. I only wish to help you.**_ Konekomaru stared at the shadowy demon in confusion, his silence allowing the demon to go on.**_ I can already see that you are alone much of the time, and require a bit of help due to this. If you choose to trust and accept me, I could help you. I could give you anything your heart desired. I could make you whatever kind of person you wanted to be._**

Konekomaru clutched his head with one of his hands and closed his eyes as Gale's voice echoing in his head grew louder and louder until he felt like he was getting a bad headache.

"No! I don't want your help! I don't trust demons and I never will, not after what they did to my family!" There was silence for a few moments before Gale spoke again.

_**Very well, I see that I will have to gain your trust. I can do this, it will not be a hard task once you realize what I can do for you.**_ Konekomaru snatched up his toothbrush and went for the door, feeling the urge to get as far away from the shadowy demon as possible.

"Not going to happen, because I'm going to report you to the exorcists here as soon as possible." The same dark chuckled sounded in his head once more.

_**No you won't.**_ Konekomaru felt a small gust of wind blow against his back and turned just in time to see Gale disappear in a black swirl of shadow. With a tight look on his face, Konekomaru gripped the door-handle and opened the door before walking out, closing it quietly behind him; completely unaware of the glowing red eyes still watching him from the shadows.

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><p>It was noon in True Cross Academy once again, which only meant one thing: a race and battle to the death over lunch.<p>

_Aw man, why that stray cat have to come out of nowhere? I had to stop and play with it, but it couldn't have picked a worse time to make an appearance._ He was running as fast as he could without jostling his bad arm to where the lunch counter was, but by the time he got there, he found that the whole thing was surrounded by a mob of people. As best he could, he squeezed and picked his way through the crowd until he was close enough to the counter. However, by the time he got there, he found that everything was gone, with not even a crumb or piece of plastic packaging left.

His stomach grumbled, reminding him that it was empty. With a sigh, he clutched his stomach and walked off to meet Bon and Shima at their usual place for lunch.

_Who knows, maybe they'll share their sandwiches with me since I couldn't get one._ As he passed under a small clump of trees, something whizzed by his shoulder and landed with a soft 'thump' on the ground. He turned quickly to see what had almost hit him, and was very surprised to find that it was a sandwich, perfectly packaged and fresh. He carefully bent down and picked it up in his hand. Once he had it in his grasp, he found something else beside the food. He placed the sandwich into the cradle that his sling made and picked up the item, which turned out to be a black feather.

However, the feather seemed... different somehow. It looked like a crow or raven's feather, but it seemed too clean and shiny, like it was made of metal. He ran his thumb down it's edge, then dropped it with a cry of pain when it cut the skin. He immediately stuck his thumb into his mouth, tasting the metallic hint of his own blood as it seeped from the cut. The black feather lay on the grass once again, now having a few drops of blood dotted on it.

_**Ah, yes, I apologize. I should have warned you, my feathers are very sharp, so you must be careful if you pick one up.**_ Konekomaru looked up into the tree above him, then frowned when he saw Gale sitting in a branch above him.

"Are you following me or something?"

_**Possibly, more or less**_.**_ Have you changed your mind about my helping you?_** Konekomaru glared at the bird demon.

"Have I changed my mind since a few hours ago? Over a sandwich? Obviously not." He expected an immediate response, but the demon took a minute or two before answering.

_**Well then, I see that I'll have to show you more of what I can do for you before you will trust me. Very well then, if that is the way it must be, so be it. I'll be back, enjoy your meal.**_ With these words as a parting, Gale flapped his wings and disappeared into the shadows, Konkeomaru watching his departure. Konekomaru growled a bit and started once again on his walk over to where Bon and Shima would surely be.

_Why doesn't that stupid demon just leave me alone already? That thing has been following me around since yesterday._ These thoughts followed him all the way to when he found Bon and Shima.

"'Sup Koneko? Why're ya' lookin' so down?" Konekomaru looked up at Shima and Bon, who were sitting on a bench, waiting for him. Konekomaru put on a mask to hide his feelings at the moment in order not to worry his friends. It wasn't a hard feat, he had done the same thing for years if there was anything troubling him. His friends had their own worries, and could never burden them with his own.

"Oh, it's nothing Shima, just thinking." Bon looked at Konekomaru, then seemed to start a bit.

"Konekomaru, what did you do to your thumb?" Konekomaru was confused at what he meant for a moment, then felt something wet dripping down said finger and looked at it. During his confrontation with Gale and being lost in his own thoughts, he had forgotten about the cut in his finger. It was deeper than he had originally thought, and had picked up a steady trickle of blood that was coming from the cut. Konekomaru placed the injured finger back in his mouth, ignoring the strong taste of his blood.

"It's nothing. I tripped and cut it on a rock, I'm fine." Bon shook his head and reached into his bag.

"Doesn't look very 'fine' to me. Hold on, I think I have some bandages in my bag somewhere." Bon rifled through his bag until he found a small box of bandages. He peeled the plastic off of the backs and held out his hand for Konekomaru's. The small monk did what his friend wanted and let Bon bandage up his finger. Bon smiled and let out a satisfied grunt when he thought the cut was properly wrapped up. A bit off, from up in his tree, Gale sat, watching...

_**So, those two are the things most important to you, hm?**_

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><p>Well, this is the first of my two chapter making up promise. Well... to be perfectly honest, I'm not too satisfied with how this one turned out, but I guess it's alright for now. Oh yeah, I was thinking of writing my own poem in a future chapter for the little book from chapter 3. It may not be as good as Ms. Ravensoul's, but I'll try my best if I do end up writing one. So, just tell me if you'd like to see my attempt at poetry, and I'll do my best.<p>

Remember, reviews are what keep this story going, and I'll always accept suggestions and creative criticism, so keep these reviews coming. Adios for now mis amigos!


	5. Chapter 5

Finally, he was back in the cram school. Konekomaru was glad not to be alone, even though he didn't feel comfortable with one student in particular. Up at the very front of the class, sitting right in front of the teacher's desk, Rin Okumura. Ever since they had discovered Rin's secret, Konekomaru almost dreaded having to see Okumura again. He would admit it, he was scared of Rin. He didn't want to be anywhere near the son of Satan. Still, if he wanted to go on with his exorcist training, he just had to grit his teeth and bear it.

Instead of focusing on Rin and his fear, Konekomaru opted to focus all he could on the teacher at the board, which happened to be Shura. He took careful and concise notes on how to summon a demon of rot, making sure to ignore Rin at all costs. Still, he couldn't help but grip his pencil tightly in his hand as he wrote, he could already feel his hand beginning to ache.

"And with that, the lesson is done," Shura said, placing the chalk she was holding down on the metal holder of the chalkboard. "Yeah, now you all can talk, read, whatever, cause my lesson is done for the day. I'm out, peace." With a wave of the hand, she left the students alone to talk amongst themselves. Rin, with a smile, got out of his seat and headed for the Kyoto trio. Konekomaru tensed up almost immediately when Rin across from Bon and Shima.

"Wassup guys," Rin said nonchalantly. Shima waved as Rin sat down, Bon acknowledging his presence with a nod. "So, what's been going on with you guys?" Konekomaru was, well... he was flabbergasted. There was simply no other word to describe his feelings at that time. There was Bon and Shima, his two best friends and fellow members of the temple, and they were just sitting there and talking to the son of Satan as if it were nothing! His hands began to sweat as his mind started to race with thoughts and fear.

"Hey Konekomaru." Konekomaru froze as he heard Rin say his name. He could feel a single drop of sweat drip down his forehead in his nervousness. "Hey Koneko, what're you doin' over there? Come on over and talk with us!" With a grunt, Konekomaru stood up and headed for the classroom door, claiming he was going to use the restroom.

He did go to the bathroom, he just didn't use it. Instead he turned on the sink faucet and cupped some of the water in his usable hand to splash on his face. Once he had done this a few times, he turned off the water and stared at his reflection in the mirror. His face was now dripping with water, the sweat having been washed away by the clean liquid. Gripping the sink in his hand, he let his chin drop to his chest, shutting his eyes tightly as he did so.

_This is so stupid! Here I am, always saying I'm going to protect my friends as best as I can, but when it comes down to it, I can't even get over my fear enough to get close enough to them. Why do I have to be so weak?_ He opened his eyes again, glaring at his own face in the mirror, hating himself for not being strong enough. Hating himself for not being born as brave as Shima or as smart as Bon. He was even hating himself for hating himself. He glared at his own reflection once more. Then, with a frustrated growl, he swore and hit the water pooled in the sink with his hand that wasn't in a cast, sending a spray of it flying through the air and hitting the other side of the bathroom. He placed the same hand on the edge of the sink once again, then closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cool, reflecting surface of the mirror.

_**What seems to be the trouble little one?**_

"Just leave me alone you stupid demon." Konekomaru hated himself so much right then that he didn't even feel he had enough to spare for Gale at that moment. Gale had perched itself on the sink next to him, watching him with those ever staring red eyes.

_**Are you angry with someone? Perhaps one of your enemies or friends?**_ Konekomaru closed his eyes, trying his best to ignore Gale, considering just pulling out his beads and exorcising the thing to be done with it already. **_Or, perhaps, are you angry with yourself?_** All other thoughts in Konekomaru's mind froze in their tracks at that moment, all his attention suddenly turned to Gale.

"What do you know about me? You're just a worthless demon?" Konekomaru hardly ever raised his voice, and even when he did, it wasn't a sign that he was angry. The only time you could tell if he was truly angry is if his voice lost all emotion, leaving him sounding hollow and desolate when he spoke. Gale, however, did not need to listen to voices to feel emotion, it merely felt them.

_**So much anger in such a small body, it's actually rather impressive. Believe me, boy, I can sense things about people. Simply by looking at you, I can tell that you are full of anger and hatred at those who threaten those you care for. Yet, you also despise yourself because you feel you aren't strong enough to protect them.**_ Now, Konekomaru began to feel less angry, and more scared of this demon that seemed to feel his emotions at a will. **_Listen to me boy, if you are willing to trust me, I can change all of that. I can make you stronger, more powerful. With my help, I can help you gain anything you desire!_** Gale's voice seemed to drop in volume a bit, so it was more of a whispering in Konekomaru's head, as if it were one of his own thoughts. _**Take a look in the mirror.**_

Konekomaru turned and faced the mirror once more, wondering what he might be seeing. He inhaled a breath at what he saw. It was him, but it wasn't. It had Konekomaru's eyes, his glasses, and even his shaved head. But, this reflection in the mirror seemed older, wiser, more powerful. The reflection had to be at least six feet tall, much taller than he was. The arms, full of muscle and vigor, told of great strength and experience of the fight. Even the eyes seemed more knowledgeable, and much wiser than his own. Suddenly, he felt as if a sort of weight fall on his shoulder and, even though it didn't appear in the mirror, he somehow knew that Gale had perched itself on his shoulder.

_**Do you see boy? This is what I can do for you. I can make you the strong person you desire to be. This could be you, if you were to accept and trust me.**_ Konekomaru stared the reflection more, wondering at how much it looked like how he had wished himself to be. **_Or, perhaps this is not your strongest desire. Perhaps you would rather go a bit further back into your time. Is it that, instead of wanting what you might be in the future, you'd rather have another chance at what you were in the past?_**

The mirror seemed to glint for a moment, and the reflection changed. Konekomaru, who had been surprised before at the possible shadow of his future self, was now utterly shocked at what he saw now. Instead of the eyes of age and wisdom, he saw ones of innocence and youth. The small brown orbs stared back at him from the reflective glass, head tilted to the side, as if trying to figure out who or what he was.

_**Is this what you desire instead? A chance to live the childhood that you never got to experience? I could do anything you want, grant you any item or wish that you would desire, if you would only give me your trust and acceptance.**_ Konekomaru was only half paying attention to Gale by that point. He only stared at his reflection in the mirror, which Gale had put back to normal. His mind tried to wrap itself around all the things he had seen and been told. Would it... would it really be a good thing for him to trust this demon. It wasn't as if he hadn't when he was younger...

Something clicked on like a light in his mind, clearing the haze that had begun to float through his head. He shook his head and moved the shoulder that Gale had been perched on, making it flap off and land back on the sink it had been on in the beginning.

"Listen, I don't know what your game is, but cut it out! Just stop following me!" Then, going as fast as he could without making it look like he was scared, he walked out of the room, leaving Gale behind.

* * *

><p>He sighed as he sat back down in his seat in the classroom. The conversation with Gale was still fresh in his mind. He had been able to brush Gale off and leave then. However... if he had allowed Gale to speak to him for a few more minutes, perhaps even one more, he might have actually agreed to the offer that had been proposed to him. He clenched his fist under the desk and leaned over for his bag. He reached into it and came out with a book. He placed it on the desk and was about to just read it, when he glanced at the cover. <em>Poetry: In Light and Dark<em>. This was the same book he had picked up the night before! He didn't remember having put it into his bag!

Slowly, almost cautiously, he opened it. Instead of just flipping to a random page, he actually examined the table of contents. There were no names on the poems, just sections with different types of poems. In order to avoid the kind of poem he had found the night before, he looked for the type of poem that was farthest away from it. He settled on haiku. He found the section, being surprised that it only had two pages, and flipped to it. Both pages were lined with haiku, none of them having names. The only other words there were, besides the ones in the small poems, were two titles on each page. The one on the right read _In the Light, _the one on the left reading_, In the Dark_. Konekomaru looked right and looked at a few poems on _In the Light_.

* * *

><p>No joy in terror,<br>With endless lies, fear won't die,  
>Only truth kills fear<p>

* * *

><p>Light erases fear<p>

It protects and comforts the

Lost souls of the world

* * *

><p>Dark deceives the weak<p>

The weak shall find their shelter

In the warm, safe light

* * *

><p>Konekomaru looked at the rest and found that all of the poems on the <em>In the Light<em> side all related to things like this. It was, in reality, a bit boring. Then, against a little something that he felt in his gut, he turned and read from _In the Dark_.

* * *

><p>Light is warm and bright<p>

But for those whom the light shun,

Dark brings them comfort

* * *

><p>Many fear the dark<p>

But bright stars appear on

The darkest of nights

* * *

><p>When the darkness falls<p>

While the weak hide in the light

The strong embrace it

* * *

><p>Konekomaru almost had to physically restrain himself from slamming the book shut there and then. It wasn't that these poems were boring as well, on the contrary, that was what worried him. When he read the poems about light, he felt nothing. However, when he read the ones that praised the dark, he felt something stir within his heart, and that scared him almost more than his encounters with Gale. Instead of putting the book away then and there, he tried flipping through the pages, hoping to find one about light that would stir him as the ones about the darkness did. He found one with a promising title, then began to read it.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Fun<em>

The sun shines bright in the day

Bringing warmth and light so bright

But while under the sun many play

Some prefer in the night

The night is the goblin's playground

And like the children under the sun

They sneak and slip all around

And partake in their goblin fun

They creep into houses

While the masters deeply sleep

Even quieter than mouses

And up the stairs they creep

Into the youngest child's room

That's where they'll have their fun

Unable to sense impending doom

Through his dreams, the child will still run

With long, silver nails sharpened like their teeth

The goblins approach the boy in the bed

Uncurling their nails like swords from the sheath

They leave the boy lying on white sheets, now red

Now their fun is had and done

Out the nightmare creatures creep

No one yet knows the creature's fun

Because the boy's protectors still sleep

* * *

><p>This time Konekomaru did close the book, but he had to keep himself from slamming it as he did so. For some reason, at the end of the poem, about the protectors, an image of Bon and Shima flashed into his mind. It couldn't be, he couldn't think of Bon and Shima like that, like careless protectors who let harm come to the defenseless child while they slept unaware, they weren't like that at all... weren't they?<p>

* * *

><p>Gale watched through the window once more, a smile flashing in its' eyes. It didn't matter to it that it was taking to long to get to this boy. Gale, though in the form of a bird, had the patience of a spider. It would take a while, but once its' prey was tangled up in his own web of fear and confusion, Gale would swoop down and begin its' feast, feeding from the delicious fear and hatred that the child felt. With a flap of the wings, Gale disappeared, leaving to prepare for its' more powerful time, during the night.<p>

* * *

><p>First thing I'll say here, this was WAAAY longer than my usual chapters are. I guess it was for two reasons. One: there was a lot I wanted to have done in this chapter' and two: because it was a bit of my way for making up for being a day late in my deadline. Secondly, thanks to Ms. Ravensoul for use of more of her wonderful poetry. (If anyone is wondering which one is hers, it's the first haiku that I used.) All of the rest of the poetry is mine.<p>

Yup, things are getting darker and edgier as Gale continues to pick at the defenses of poor Konekomaru's heart. If anyone is wondering about the line where Konekomaru said he had trusted demons before, well... that's something for later in the story. Once again, if anyone had any suggestions, or if you just have a bit of creative criticism, please put it in a review and I'll look at it at my earliest convenience. And thanks to all who have read my story this far, you are all wonderful people!


	6. Chapter 6

Konekomaru sat in the dorm room, but this time he wasn't alone. He had Bon and Shima there. He had finished his homework and studies already, so he was reading as they studied. Shima looked up from his notebook at Konekomaru.

"Hey Neko," he said.

"Yeah Shima?"

"We're out of pencil lead and erasers, do you think you could run down to the convenience store and grab some since you're done studying already?" Bon looked up from his textbook to glare at Shima.

"Shima, he just got out of the hospital yesterday and you're sending him on errands? Go get it yourself and stop being so lazy!" Konekomaru smiled and stood up from his bed.

"It's fine Bon, I don't mind. It won't take me that long." He grabbed a jacket and managed to pull it on one-armed before heading for the door. I'll be back in a bit." Shima and Bon said quick goodbyes as Konekomaru shut the door behind him.

It was surprisingly chilly for a summer evening, which was why he had grabbed a jacket. Still, he couldn't help but shiver a bit as he clutched the paper bag holding Shima's requested items. The sound of his footsteps were quickly disappearing in the quiet summer evening. He glanced up and saw a few stars begin to come out in the darkening sky. He let out a breath, half expecting it to make itself seen in a mist, though he knew it wasn't that cold.

He had always been very sensitive to cold, and he didn't like it at all. He tried to focus on the flickering light that the lamps along the path gave off instead of the temperature. He stared straight ahead into the dark, listening to the sounds of night. The constant 'zwee zwee' of cicadas, the slight breeze blowing through the trees, the flapping of wings...

He stopped right then and there, his face hardening in anger.

"I know you're there, quit hiding in the shadows and come out." He heard the wings once more and turned in the sound's direction. It was on a bench that Gale materialized. In the dim light of the nearby lamps, Gale seemed even darker and more sinister than it had during the day.

_**Such a clever boy. Not many are able to sense when I am near.**_ Konekomaru turned his angry face to Gale, using it to mask the fear he truly felt for the dark demon.

"I keep on telling you to stop following me, but you still do. Why?" Gale stared at him with those blank, red orbs.

_**I see you still do not trust me.**_ Konekomaru made a face that made it look like he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

"You think? You've thrown a sandwich at me and shown me a few pictures in the mirror. It's really not all that impressive." Though his words came out harsh and condescending, his insides were squirming with nervousness. It was only thanks to years of masking his true emotions that he was able to pull this off so convincingly.

_**Yes? Well, forgive me when I say this, but... I think that you're lying.**_ Konekomaru started for a second and tried to regain his composure.**_ You can't hide anything from me boy. I can sense any worry or trouble you feel. I want you to realize that, I only wish to help you. I see that you are finding yourself alone once again._** Now that it mentioned this, Konekomaru felt even more vulnerable than before, knowing there was no one he could ask to help him in case this bird really did turn out to be a threat._** Now, If you were to trust me, you would never be alone again. I would always be by your side, serving and protecting, like any true friend would.**_

"...How do I know I can really trust you?" Konekomaru had to admit, through all of the fear and worry he felt about the demon, he was a bit intrigued. He didn't know if it was all the stress finally getting to him or if he was so dizzy in his fear that his head was going a bit funny. But, he was almost prepared to test Gale on it's offer.

_**Simply take my wing, and I shall show you. **_Gale slowly reached out a wing to Konekomaru, shadowy black feathers looking glossy, yet metallic in the dim moon- and lamp-light. Konekomaru slowly lifted a hand and, slowly, cautiously, reached a fingertip out to the demon. He accidentally brushed the edges of Gale's feathers, but found the small strands to be soft like silk, not sharp like a knife. Feeling a bit more confident, he reached his whole hand out, and grabbed Gale's wing-tip.

As soon as he did this, swirls of darkness enveloped him and he realized that he couldn't feel the ground under his feet anymore. He immediately began fighting, believing that what he had just done was a grave mistake.

_**Relax boy, I am doing nothing to harm you.**_ For some reason, Konekomaru stopped at these words. It was almost an involuntary stop, but his body obeyed as if it were something he wanted to do on his own. **_There, now, I shall show you something._** Konekomaru felt himself moving, and then felt a cool wind on his face. He opened his eyes. He let out a gasp of breath at the sight that met his eyes. He, they, were hundreds of feet above the ground, flying high above the Academy and surrounding town.

He wasn't quite sure when the change happened, but the next thing he knew, Konekomaru was riding on Gale's back, gripping the black feathers as if they linked him to his very life. The paper bag was still in the crook of his broken arm, the edges whipping a bit from the sky-wind. Below them were thousands of lights from homes, late-running businesses, cars, and street-lights. It was like seeing a gigantic Christmas display from a helicopter or plane.

"Wow..." That was the only coherent word his mind was able to form. He was so overwhelmed by what he was seeing that he couldn't think of a single thing else.

_**Do you see? I could show you these kind of sights anytime you wished if you trusted me. Anything your heart desired, I could grant it for you.**_ Simply out of habit, Konekomaru glanced at his watch. He was shocked out of his awe when he saw the time.

"aw man! I've been gone for over half an hour! I've gotta' get back to the doooo-" His last word lengthened as Gale made a sudden sharp drop out of the sky, making a near vertical decline, only to pull up moments before hitting the tree line. Konekomaru was grateful when he saw the lights of the dorm room a few feet away, but was still angry at Gale. "What was that about?" Gale slowed to a stop and the next thing Konekomaru knew, he was standing on the ground as if he had simply walked all the way back.

_**I apologize. You wished to return to your little friends as quickly as possible, so I did as you wished. However, you did enjoy the flight, did you not?**_ Konekomaru's face lost his anger and he looked down at his shoes. He did enjoy it when he was flying on Gale's back. It was serene and almost, peaceful. Save for the sudden dive at the end, he actually liked being to high in the sky.

"Well... I will admit that I did. What about it?" Gale flapped, or, whatever it really did to move, closer to Konekomaru and stared at his face.

_**Well, seeing as you did enjoy it, would you not like to experience that again?**_ Konekomaru said nothing, but gave a little movement of the head to show that he would. Gale was silent for a moment, seeming to ponder this, then spoke. **_ Very well then, I shall make a proposition for you. You do not trust me now, but I could show you other things that I could do for you. I shall lend my services to you for three days. If you believe that I can be of some use to you, then you will trust me. If you do not, I shall leave without complaint. Is that a fair deal?_** It gave a few seconds of silence to allow Konekomaru to ponder his offer.

"...Okay. I'll accept your offer for now. But if you try any funny business, I'll have every exorcist in the school know about you." Gale made a motion like a nod.

_**There is no doubt in my mind about that. Very well, I shall commence our deal tomorrow. There are things I must take care of tonight.**_ Gale moved its' shadowy wings once and vanished. **_I shall be seeing you tomorrow..._** These words lingered, even as Gale disappeared. Konekomaru looked around, then walked into the light of the dorm. When he entered the room he shared with Bon and Shima, they were both still studying.

"Koneko, there you are. Where have you been? You've been gone for a long time," Shima said as he closed his book. Konekomaru averted his eyes and fiddled with the package that he now held in his good hand.

"Yeah, well... I saw a stray cat on the way back and I stopped to play with it. I didn't know how long had been gone until I looked at my watch." His friends seemed to accept this. Konekomaru handed the paper bag over to Shima and said he was going off to take a bath. He grabbed a towel and some pajamas and walked out to the bathroom.

Gale sat on the rooftop of the dorm, pondering and calculating what its' next move should be. Now that the boy had agreed to its' little deal, it was only a matter of time until it had control of the boy's body, soul, and mind. There was only one problem that it could see in the near future.

The reason Gale had taken such a sharp dive in its' flight wasn't to get the boy to his friends. In fact, Gale was planning to sever the connections of friendship between them as soon as possible. No, it was because someone may have seen him. Although even Gale hadn't gotten a good look at the figure on the rooftop, the bright white suit certainly gave away the identity. It was common knowledge among demons that Mephisto Pheles did not allow other demons within his school without his direct permission. In fact, Gale's very life was at risk just being there. The only reason it was even there was because the strange man with the eyepatch had promised that it would find a very good host here, which it did.

Still, Gale did take chances and risks, it was one of the things one like itself did in order to survive. So, Gale would continue this risk. After all, with the kind of feast and power the boy's fear could provide once he was possessed, it was absolutely worth it. Now Gale sat and waited for the boy to sleep, when it could manipulate his fears through his nightmares once again.

Bathed and changed into his pajamas, Konekomaru felt sleepy and just wanted to sleep. Though, from his nightmares lately, half of him didn't. Still, despite his fear, he had to be rational. As he had learned when he had taken on so much responsibility as a child, he had to push his emotions to the side in order to get done what had to be. Reason came before emotion, that was how he was raised. With a sigh, he turned in his bed and slept.

Outside his window, a pair of red eyes watched him drift off. Slowly, Gale's dark shadow drifted through the window and to Konekomaru's bed, disappearing into the young monk's dreams, which were soon to turn to nightmares.

… Eh, Okay, it's late as I'm writing this, so I'll keep my author's notes short this time.

I really like the direction this story is going in so far, I really do. It gives me a chance to explore how I think Konekomaru really is on the inside and his inner insecurities.

Anyhoo, next chapter is going to be a bonus; a little look into my version of Konekomaru's past. I hope you will all read and review!


	7. Bonus Chapter 1

"Hey, Miwa-san!" Konekomaru looked up, both figuratively and literally, at the person who had spoken to him. One of the temple priests, he wasn't quite sure which, approached him with a small stack of papers in hand. He held them out to Konekomaru, who was only about 3 at this time. "We need you to have memorized these prayers in a week for the next prayer session. Do you think you can do that?" Konekomaru took the papers, almost missing them with his hand, and nodded. The priest nodded back and walked off, leaving the small boy with the papers.

Konekomaru sighed as he looked at the blurry kanji on the paper. He already had so much he had to do, and now one more piece was added onto his load. And to only make matters worse, everything he was given was hard to read.

He never voiced these complaints in worry that they would think him slow or stupid. It wasn't that he was unable to understand the words on the paper, but he was physically unable to read them clearly, like he was unable to see other things clearly. All of his 'sight' was basically a big blur. He couldn't make out the details on people's faces, he could barely see the shape of an individual leaf, he could only identify animals by the sound they made. And to top it all off, he kept on bumping into objects because he couldn't tell how far away or big they were; making people call him clumsy and 'accident prone'.

He began walking to Ossama's home where the rest of his work was, he had only gone out in order to bring back something to eat. So, he clutched a bun in one hand, and the stack of papers in the other. He heard a sound and turned to try and make out who or what was making it. He managed to make out two figures, each about an inch taller than him. From this, he knew straight away who they were. They were the sons of two of the big families in the temple: Ryuuji Suguro and Renzo Shima. He knew their names, and that was pretty much it. He never spoke to them, never sat near them at dinner, heck, because his eyesight was so bad, he didn't even know what their faces looked like.

One of the two seemed to notice him looking at them and stopped, seeming to stare back. When Konekomaru felt the intensity of his gaze, though he couldn't see it, he knew exactly who it was. It was Ryuuji Suguro, Ossama's son and heir to the temple. Konekomaru knew the boy by the intense glares he always have him. Though, he didn't know why the boy would be so angry as to stare at him like that. Not knowing what else to do; he bowed in Ryuuji's direction, turned, and scurried up the path, keeping his eyes down on the pavement in order to keep himself from going off it and tripping.

* * *

><p>Konekomaru sat with his legs under the kotatsu, and his hands on the table, running his fingers along the lines that the words made. He squinted his eyes tightly in order to try and make out the kanji in front of him. He heard footsteps come up and stop in front of the table. He looked up and saw the familiar coloring of Ossama's wife's robe.<p>

"Hello Konekomaru, doing well?" Konekomaru nodded and looked back down at the paper to continue squinting at it in order to try and read it. "What's the matter? Is it not bright enough in here? Hold on, I'll turn on the light for you, it's not good to read in this dim light, you'll hurt your eyes. She walked to the wall and flipped the switch for the overhead light, making the room brighter. He would admit, it did make reading a bit easier, just not very much so.

"Thank you, that's better." He guessed that she smiled, then she said she would check on him later and left. Konekomaru went back to reading as he ran his finger along the page again. It was hard enough that he had to read with such bad eyesight, but he also had to read all of these complicated words and figure out what they meant. Still, he never complained. If he ever did complain, it was a long time ago. Even when he did then, the times were few, because if he complained, he would either be reprimanded or, if one of the more 'disciplinary' priests was around, smacked on the head. So, one of his earliest lessons in life was to keep his mouth shut and just do as told.

He spotted a black dot floating around in his peripheral vision and turned to see it fully. The small black thing, a bit smaller than his palm, floated near his head. The large green eyes stood out from the coal-black body greatly, making them seem neon just by being so differently colored. Konekomaru held up a hand, allowing it to land there. He could feel the creature's tiny legs prick his finger as it made touchdown. Konekomaru brought the thing closer to his face to see it better.

For some reason, he had always been able to see these little creatures, and a few choice others, more clearly than other things. However, the main problem with this was that no one else seemed to be able to. When he was younger, if he ever tried to show them one of these little black things, or others, they would either brush him off or look sorry for him, though why they would do the latter, he didn't know why. So, he came to be quiet about these creatures as well. While he had no human friends to speak of, these things often kept him company whenever he managed to find one.

He felt the little empty feeling on his finger that meant that the thing had taken off. He could see the little black body floating around his head in circles. He stood up and walked towards the window and opened it, allowing the puff-ball-like thing float out the window and into the open air outside. It was the way of these things, he knew, to float freely wherever the breeze might take them, and he wasn't going to deny them their right to do that. Besides, he would most likely see more of them later. With that thought on his mind, he sat back at the kotatsu and began reading again.

* * *

><p>Konekomaru placed the last bit of rice from his bowl into his mouth and began chewing. He stared down at the blurry shapes of his empty dinner dishes. He heard the buzz of conversations all around him, but made no effort to join in any of them. This was his dinnertime, he ate what he needed and left. Once his last bite of food was chewed and swallowed; he took his dishes, stood up, and carried them to the kitchen. After a few years, he knew his way around, even if he couldn't see it very clearly.<p>

Ossama's wife and a few other women were in there, cleaning and putting away the dishes.

"Oh, hello Konekomaru, done already?" Konekomaru nodded quietly and held his bowl and glass up to her until she took them from him. He heard her sigh quietly as she walked in the direction he knew the sink was. "Honestly Koneko; you have to eat more than just some rice, fish, and warm milk. You'll never grow big and strong the way you eat." Konekomaru only nodded quietly.

"Um... would it be alright if I went out to pray for my parents a bit? I want to say goodnight to them."

"Mmm... Well... Okay, but don't stay out for too long. You still have to get to bed." Konekomaru nodded once more and, with a 'yes ma'am' he left.

He wandered along the stone-paved path for as much as he could see. He soon recognized where he was and knelt down on the same path. He put his hands together as if in prayer and bowed his head.

"Hello mother, hello father." His parents' graves were like the others, but he had done something to make sure that it was always their graves he visited. While the other graves had white and yellow flowers on them, he had placed blue and red ones in front of their stones. He may not have been able to see shapes very well, but he could see colors well enough. "I hope everything is okay with you and my other ancestors, wherever you are. Everything is fine here, I suppose. I have a lot of work to do, and I'm not sure how much I can really do, but I'm going to do my best for you. Like the other temple workers say, I have to be strong for you. Like they all say..." He trailed off in his sentence before starting a new one. "Well, I'm going now. Please watch over me and lend me your strength as I try to do you proud. I love you both."

He stood up, brushed off his knees, bowed once more to them, and started back up the path. Only, this time, he stepped off of it halfway between the way to the houses and the graves. Following a small trail of stones that he had placed down many times before, he wandered into the forest.

He wasn't quite ready to go back just yet. He may have been surrounded by others there, but he was still alone, as he had learned long ago. His family had their own room, but that space was large and empty. The only things in it were the few meager possessions he held in this world. He heard a rustling in the bushes and stopped, listening for more. Then, something sailed through the night air and landed on his shoulder, he could feel the sharp claws poking through his thin sleeve...

"Oh, hello there, I was wondering where you were." The small green creature made a noise of content as it held onto his arm and rubbed its' face into him. It was a very strange coloring, bright green with red limbs and what appeared to be a tail of some sort. It tugged on his sleeve, trying to lead him. "Okay, okay, I'm following you. But I can't stay for too long tonight, I have to get to bed." He followed the creature, what with it tugging on his arm and all.

Finally, they came to somewhat of a clearing in the forest. Their arrival was greeted with sounds of happiness. Konekomaru went to about the center of the clearing and sat down in seiza position, something else the monks had hammered into him since practical birth. A group of small green creatures crawled up his arms and to his shoulders, making small noises that sounded somewhat like 'nii'. The purple flowers made crooning noises as they swayed in the breeze, their white and brown eyes disappearing for a second every time they blinked. A few more of the strange green and red creatures clambered over to the young boy and danced around him.

"Hello. I don't know why you're all so excited every time you see me. I come and visit you every evening." Still, he couldn't help but smile as he found himself surrounded by these happy creatures. He had found this place about half a year ago, and he kept on coming back. He was never happier anywhere else than here. Here, he felt he was surrounded by true friends, even if they weren't human.

_Still_, he though as he held one of the green creatures close, _who says that your friends need to be human?_

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><p>I know that a lot of you are probably going 'huh?' right now. Don't worry, all shall be explained soon, trust me. I have made each chapter, even the bonuses for a reason. So, I shall be putting a bit more poetry into the next chapter. If anyone wishes, you can put your poetry in with your review and I'll see what I can do about fitting it into the next chapter. One more thanks to Ms. Ravensoul for all the inspiration she has given me, thanks Raven, I appreciate all the reviews and I hope to hear from you again soon.<p>

Well, that's all for now folks, I hope you'll all review and continue reading. Next chapter, we get to see what Gale has planned for little Koneko, hear about the new kind of training the cram school has in mind, and see what Mephisto thinks of Gale inside his school. Well, ta ta for now.


	8. Chapter 7

Konekomaru woke up with a sharp gasp. He sat bolt-upright in bed and put a hand on his forehead to calm himself. He had just woken up from another horrible, recurring nightmare. He looked over at Bon's bed and saw that it was empty, then at the clock to see that it was already past six a.m., about the time that Bon left on his morning jog. Konekomaru looked to Shima's bed and saw that said pink-haired boy was asleep, snoring under the covers. Konekomaru sighed as he prepared to have another lonely morning.

_**Ah, good morning to you**_**.** Konekomaru almost jumped when he heard the voice, before recognizing who it was.

"Oh, hello to you too." Gale sat on Konekomaru's bed-post, watching him with those eerie red eyes.

_**And how was your sleep last night? Pleasant? Any dreams?**_ Konekomaru barely held back a shiver when he remembered his latest nightmare.

"No, none. Why are you here again?" Gale spoke in a voice that sounded almost hurt, if that was even possible for a demon like it.

_**Why, don't you remember? We made a deal last night. I shall show you what I can do for you, and if you accept that, you will trust me.**_ The memory slowly leaked back into his mind as he grabbed his glasses from his bed-side table and put them on.

"Yeah, I do remember. Well, anyways, I guess I'll see how it works out for a few days." He grabbed some clothes and walked to the bathroom to change. He made it there and did so, but when he was brushing his teeth, he was startled by suddenly seeing Gale's reflection in the mirror, then turned to face the real thing. "Do you have to keep doing that?"

_**I apologize, it is simply my nature. My kind tend to stick to the shadows, to protect ourselves. You understand.**_ Konekomaru grunted that he did as he picked up his things.

"Is there anything else I need to know before this deal goes forward anymore?"

_**Well, one more. As I am a demon here in this school, I have to take caution so as not to be seen. I happen to have a few enemies, and I don't want any of them to catch wind that I'm here. So, while I will be around, I am going to make myself hidden. You will not be able to see me, nor will your friends, but I will be around in the event that you need me.**_ With that, Gale finally seemed to vanish, a swirl of shadows that soon dissipated and dispersed, leaving no trace of its' existence there before. Konekomaru sighed and placed a hand against his forehead. Less than an hour into it and he was already getting tired of that. Oh well, perhaps this would work out for him in the end. He grabbed his things and went to get some breakfast.

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><p>Konekomaru sat alone at a table, munching on some rice from a bowl. There were other people from the normal day classes, some that he even knew from his own class. But he never really talked to anyone besides Bon and Shima, so he didn't know anyone well enough to talk to them. This was why he sat alone on so many mornings, because he simply had no one to talk to.<p>

"Hey Konekomaru." Or perhaps not. He looked up from his meal and saw Bon walking towards him, school uniform on and looking ready for the day. "I finished my jog early today, so I thought I'd come and eat breakfast with you. Is that okay?" Konekomaru nodded happily.

"Yeah, that'd be great." A yawn drew his attention to the side of him, where he saw Shima walking up, looking tired but ready for the day. "Oh, hey Shima. You're up kinda' early for yourself. Though, being up by this time would probably be better." Shima shrugged and grabbed a seat, placing down his own breakfast.

"Yeah, I accidentally set my alarm a half hour early. I didn't want to get out of bed, but it would have been an even bigger pain if I was late. So I just got up and decided to get it over with." He placed an elbow on the table, leaned his head on his hand, and started eating. Konekomaru smiled, happy that he wasn't alone for once.

Suddenly, Shima's eyes widened and his elbow shot out from under him, knocking into his glass of orange juice. Said juice tipped over, splashing its' contents right onto Konekomaru. The small monk yelped when the cold liquid hit him. Luckily Shima was sitting on the opposite side of where his cast was, so his cast didn't get wet. Still, now he was pretty much soaked in juice and it was seeping in quickly.

"Aw crap! I'm so sorry Konekomaru!" Konekomaru stood up and waved off Shima's apology.

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm gonna' go and run this shirt under some water before the stain sets. Be right back." With that he scurried out of the room, running for the bathroom where he could hopefully save his shirt. Shima rounded on some boys at a nearby table, who had snickered at the event.

"Alright, which one of you jokers pushed my arm?" One of the boys, a fairly lanky one with long punk hair, raised an eyebrow at him.

"What're you talking about? None of us were anywhere near you. We saw what happened, you just pushed that glass and splashed him. We had nothing to do with it, that was you." Shima stared at them, mouth slightly open. He would never do that to Konekomaru, and he knew that he had felt someone shove his arm. But those boys claimed that they didn't , and they seemed to be telling the truth. But then, if they didn't do it, who did?

Shima never heard the dark chuckle coming from the shadows as Gale watched the effects of his little plan play out very nicely.

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><p>Konekomaru stood at the sink, running his shirt under a spray of cold water from the faucet. Luckily he had gotten to the bathroom before it had dried in, but now he was going to have to walk around in a wet shirt for most of the day. He sighed as he turned the sink off and held up the soaked garment in the mirror.<p>

_**Hm, seems you had a bit of a spill, so to speak**_. Konekomaru wasn't even startled this time when Gale made itself known.

"Yeah, but there's really not much you can do about this." Gale chuckled and raised a shadowy wing.

_**You underestimate me boy. Hold on a moment**_. Gale brought down the wing it had raised, sending a gust of wind through the bathroom. Konekomaru closed his eyes against the sudden burst of air, and then it was gone. Nothing spectacular had seemed to happen, but when he actually looked, his shirt was completely dry, as if it had never been wet in the first place. **_You see? While my powers are spectacular, I can be useful in smaller ways as well. Now, you'd best get back to your little friends now that you're done here. Remember, I shall be watching._** With these words, Gale flapped its' wings and vanished.

Konekomaru stared at Gale's former spot as he pulled on his shirt. Once it was on and his tie was neatly around his neck, he walked out of the bathroom to meet back up with Shima and Bon. He almost could have sworn that he still felt somebody watching him.

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><p>After having gotten back from the bathroom, Shima had apologized yet again for knocking that juice on him. Konekomaru had waved him off, telling him that it was fine, and they went to their normal day classes. Of course, being a whiz that he was, he finished his work fairly earlier than the rest of the class, and he reached into his bag in search of something to read. He found himself looking at the cover of <em>Poetry: In Light and Dark<em> once again. He wasn't surprised at finding it this time, as he had never taken it out of his bag in the first place. He opened the book and started to read, though apprehensively.

**No one**

No one is there for me

No one always cares

No one listens to me

No one mends the tears

I'm always with No one

No one is always with me

Whenever I have fun

There, No one will always be

I sit with No one at lunch

My food made by hand

If I ever take a punch

No one will put my arm in a band

I don't feel lonely with No one

No one is the only one I need

Even when my day is done

He'll tuck me in and read

Konekomaru stared at the poem, comprehending slowly what it meant. However, before he could finish, the teacher called them to pass up their papers and he put the book away, forgetting about it quickly.

* * *

><p>Mephisto narrowed his eyes at the small stack of papers before him. He had been distracted for much of the day, which certainly wasn't helping his work-load. He had seen something rather unsettling the night before, and it made him angry.<p>

He had only caught a quick glimpse, but that was all he needed to recognize the dark outline of a Gale against the star-lit sky. Sneaks were his biggest pet peeve, and Gale was crossing many of his other peeves as well. He placed a hand over his mouth and rubbed the fingers of his other hand together. He had already sent a few of his best exorcists available to go and search out this Gale, but none of them had any luck so far.

Add that to the fact that he saw Gale in _that_ large of a form, then he could only guess that Gale had already found a host. The takeover wasn't fully complete, but knowing Gale creatures like Gale, it wouldn't take long.

"What's up Ani?" Mephisto's ear twitched slightly as Amaimon's voice reached it.

"Ah, Amaimon. Perfect timing, I have a favor to ask of you." His green-haired brother sat in front of him on the desk, gnawing on his thumb-nail in anticipation. "It seems that a pest has made its' way into my school, a Gale to be more precise. As you know, if there's one thing that I truly despise, it's intruders. I want you to keep an eye out for it. If you so happen to find it, I wish for you to dispose of it. **However**," he added, noting the increased pace at which Amaimon was chewing his black, claw-like nail, "you are not to kill whoever it has possessed. It may merely be a student, and even if not, I want them alive in order to interrogate them. **Am I clear**?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say Ani." Amaimon stood up and walked towards the window, dragging Behemoth behind on his leash. "I'm gonna' see if I can catch its' scent somewhere, that'll make it easier to find later on." He pushed open the window and jumped out of sight, off to catch the scent of his prey. Mephisto watched his brother disappear from view, then smiled. Whoever this Gale had possessed would most likely merely be a frightened student, or someone who had purposely invited Gale into their body to give them power. He smirked, revealing sharp, demon-like teeth.

Whoever it was, they would be in **quite** a spot of trouble when Mephisto found them.

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><p>"One last thin b'fore ya'll run off." It was the end of the day in the cram school, the students were all prepared to leave for the day. However, Shura's voice stopped them. "Due to the little<strong> incident<strong> from our last forest training," when she said 'incident' she was looking specifically at Rin, "we're gonna' try once again. We'll be having another forest training in two days. Make sure you're prepared, because we leave first thing in the morning. And for those who have... _special inhibitors_," Konekomaru knew that she was talking about him, though she wasn't looking at him, " we'll have something prepared to help you along. Dismissed, I am OUT!" She stood turned and sauntered out the door, hands in her back pockets.

The Kyoto Trio decided to take a break outside near the fountain, before the student snack bar opened. There would be as mad a rush for that as for lunch. They sat on the edge of the fountain, talking about this topic and the other. Bon stood up because his legs had fallen asleep, but he jerked back and his arm suddenly flew out, knocking into Konekomaru and knocking the small monk into the fountain.

"Oh God! Konekomaru, are you alright?" Konekomaru had knocked his casted arm on the way into the fountain, this kept it somewhat dry, but sent a shock of pain shooting up his arm as the broken bone was jostled. The rest of him, however, was sopping wet. He was, ironically, like a cat that had been dunked in a stream.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled. He pulled himself out of the fountain, dripping water onto the dirt. "I'm gonna go and change." Bon looked at him with apology in his eyes.

"Well, okay, we'll see if we can snag you something from the snack bar." Konekomaru nodded and went off, intent on getting into some dry clothes.

Bon watched as he left, still confused. Shime gave him a look.

"Dude, why'd you push him in? Not cool!" Bon rounded on Shima and knocked him on the head.

"I didn't do it on purpose! You think that I'd want to do that to him!" He crossed his arms as Shima apologized for doubting him. "Still, it's weird. It felt like someone pushed me, but there was nobody."

* * *

><p>Konekomaru walked though the trees, water squelching in his socks. He was wet, getting cold, and very uncomfortable. However, once he was under the shade of the trees, he heard a familiar voice.<p>

_**Get yourself soaked once again I see.**_ Gale sat on a branch, eyes glowing in the shade. Before Konekomaru could say anything, Gale spoke.**_ Here, allow me._** Gale flapped one wing and a blast of wind whipped around Konekomaru. In a matter of seconds, he was completely dry, evidence of his dip in the fountain practically non-existent. _**It seems that your little friends did this twice in one day. Coincidence?**_ Konekomaru considered this for a second before he saw something hit the ground at his feet. He looked down and saw what appeared to be a pork bun. **_I got this for you, I assumed that you would hunger._**

"Yes, well... thank you, I guess." He picked up the packaged food and stored it in his pocket. "By the way, who... or what are you really?" Gale stared at him for a second with those red eyes, then spoke once before disappearing.

_**Me? I am No one.**_ Konekomaru watched as Gale dissipated, dispersing into the shadows of the trees. Clothes dry and food with him, he walked back to his friends, fresh doubts unconsciously planted into his mind.

* * *

><p>Gale's eyes smirked cruelly at the boys' doubts in his own friends. Step two of his little plan, separating him from his friends, was beginning.<p>

* * *

><p>Well, seems that Gale is a very crafty demon. I hope you all enjoyed, and that you'll all keep reading and reviewing. Bye!<p> 


	9. Chapter 8

"Well, here we are, True Cross Forest... again." The students looked ahead at the vast expanse of trees. While the air wasn't sweltering hot like it had been in mid-summer, it was still a bit warm for most of their tastes. "Come on, we gotta' get a move-on before it gets dark." With Shura and Yukio leading at the front, the students found themselves in a sort of line. They talked amongst themselves as they walked, discussing whatever topics they could think of to pass the time. The only ones who didn't join in the chatter were Takara and Konekomaru.

Instead of joining in the merrymaking, Konekomaru just hung around the back, staying quiet since Shima and Bon were so deep in conversation. He didn't want to interrupt them. Besides, he kind of liked the quiet sounds of nature. It was... soothing. Still, the walk to their campground was not. It was less than an hour into it and already he was feeling the signs of tiredness. He had never exercised much as a child, mostly due to him having no friends when he was very young so he never really ran around with anyone. That fact was punishing him now, weak muscles pushing him along with every step.

A few shadows of birds broke the sun's glare for a few seconds. However, he noticed that one of the shadows didn't have a bird that made it. And instead of following normal shadow physics, it swooped on the ground from shadow to shadow, almost as if following the group. Konekomaru didn't think this strange, though. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he somehow knew that it was just Gale. For some strange reason, that thought made him... assured. He was somehow comforted by the fact that something was watching over him. He wasn't smiling about Gale' presence, but didn't dislike that fact either.

* * *

><p>Gale's sensing of human emotions was never wrong. And from how the boy was feeling, Gale had rooted itself into the boy's emotions. Not far enough quite yet, but getting there. It would be a mistake to try something too early, because then the boy would distrust him, and he needed the boy's trust for a complete takeover. Not now, but soon. Very soon.<p>

* * *

><p>The day, while not sweltering hot like in mid-summer, was still very warm. Not the best weather for a long hike. Still, one had to make do with what one had. Konekomaru wiped the sweat from his brow in the heat. He was still trudging near the back, right before Takara, who appeared to be having a silent conversation with his bunny puppet. Konekomaru tried to adjust his backpack so it was more comfortable, but this was hard as it caused discomfort to put any weight on his broken arm. He pulled it up a bit and went on walking, determined to power through it.<p>

"Hey Koneko, what's up?" Konekomaru almost stopped cold when he heard the voice directed at him. Rin had fallen back in the line, right next to Konekomaru. He was now walking beside him, having slowed down considerably from his pace where he was near the front of the line. Instead of answering, Konekomaru tried walking faster, in order to get away from Rin without having to say anything. This didn't work, though, as Rin merely sped up with him. "Hey, why're you ignoring me? I just wanna' ta-"

"I don't want to talk to you!" Rin seemed taken aback by the sudden outburst by the normally quiet monk. He seemed about to reach out to try and grab his shoulder to stop him, but suddenly went down, falling flat on his face. Konekomaru was the only one that saw the small shadow flit away from him into the cover of the trees, disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared.

"Walk much Okumura," Bon snorted towards the half-demon. Rin grumbled as he got up and brushed the dirt off his face. Konekomaru had sped up a bit, slowing back down when he was next to Shura. He noticed that she wasn't carrying a bulky backpack like the rest of them, but he remembered seeing Rin carrying two backpacks.

"Um, sensei, I had a question." Shura was walking in a relaxed sort of way, head leaned back and her hands interlocking each other behind her head. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, wha'?"

"Well, this path looks different from the one we took on our first training camp excursion. Why is that?" Shura rolled her eyes and kicked a pebble in front of her.

"Duh, 'cause we ain't headed that way. That part of the forest is still recovering from all that fire." Konekomaru nodded that he understood. "'Sides, this ain't another training mission like the last one, on this one, you'll really be on your own. This is a real survival camp. It's all well 'n good to work together, but there's times that ye' gotta' know how to get by on yer own. So, everyone's gotta' get in that forest and be on their own fer three days. If ye' can last that long without havin' t' come back t' the base camp, then ye' pass."

Konekomaru tried to ask her what about him, since it wouldn't be a very easy feat for him to survive on his own with one of his arms in a sling. He was about to say this, but she held a hand in front of his face to stop him.

"I know what yer gonna' ask about, and there's no need t' worry. Just because of that little broken bone o' yours, you're gonna' be given some extra equipment to help ye' along. Plus, I'll be havin' some of my familiars keeping a sharp eye out fer trouble. So if there's any sign of somethin' funky, either me 'r Scaredy Four Eyes'll be out there. So don't worry 'bout it, 'kay?" With that, she patted him on the head as if he were a child and walked on ahead, fanning herself with her hand. Konekomaru sighed and once again tried to adjust his backpack, ignoring the blue-haired boy who was talking with Shima and Bon.

* * *

><p>Konekomau found himself running through the forest, a sweat dripping down the back of his neck. Only a few hours ago, Yukio and Shura had sent the students off into the forest for their training. He looked up at the sky and made a noise of frustration when he found that the sun was already setting. They had spent a few hours setting up the base camp, then had been sent off with much lighter backpacks so they could travel easier. The goal for the night was to travel as far as possible before the sun set and make their own little place to stay the night. Even though it was getting close to dark, Konekomaru wanted to get a little further on before setting up for the night.<p>

Eventually, his travels led him to a stream. He had plenty of water in his backpack, but you could never be too sure. So, always keeping the sound of the rushing water in his hearing range, he started looking for a place to camp for the night.

A strange thing though, he hadn't seen or heard from Gale since the incident on the path. He looked around to make sure no one else was there, then whispered out the demon's name.

"Gale?" He waited for a minute, but received no response. "Gale, are you there?" He spoke a bit more loudly this time, but got nothing. With a grunt, he decided to stop wasting time and just keep looking. _So much for coming when I call_, he thought. He found a tree that might provide some good cover should it rain, but as he was examining it, he heard something moving. Like the flutter of dusty wings. He started and turned, recognizing the sound. Now he had to find a place to hide for the night, and quickly. He looked around the tree's wide trunk, searching for a place where the wood would have rotted and made a hole inside.

He smiled when he thought he found one. It was right at the base of the tree, on the other side. He looked inside, but it was on the opposite side from the sun, so he couldn't tell if it would be large enough for him to fit inside. Reaching into the side-pocket of his backpack, he pulled out a flashlight and shone it into the darkness of the tree.

When he did, a rush of air came out, followed by a swarm of chuchi. He stumbled back in surprise dropping his flashlight. He landed painfully on his broken arm and cried out from the shock. He looked up just in time to see the swarm descend upon him, angry at having been awoken from their slumber. He closed his eyes and tried to cover his face with his arm. He didn't dare open his mouth to scream, for fear that they would fly inside his mouth as well. He tensed up, he could feel the tiny feet landing on his arms, head, and neck. He waited for the biting of hundreds of tiny mouths on his bare skin, but it never came.

Instead, what came was a sudden rush of wind, followed by the screams of the chuchi. They took flight away from him, flying off into the forest. He couldn't see them because his eyes were still closed, but he could still hear their little shrieks of pain. Though the wind was still blowing, Konekomaru chanced to open his eyes. What he saw was the chuchi still flying, but the wind seemed to be cutting them to bits. Within the quickly moving air, he could see small, black, fast-moving objects swooping about within the wind, flashing as they cut through the insect demons like daggers. Finally, the chuchi had disappeared, either having died or successfully fled into the forest. Still a bit shaken, Konekomaru sat up slowly as he tried to gather his wits about him.

_**Are you alright?**_ Konekomaru didn't even have to turn this time, Gale appeared right in front of him, darkness, red eyes, and all. **_I apologize for not having been here earlier, but I had been scouting out for a place for you to rest during this night. I had found a lovely place not too far from here, but I sensed that you were in danger and I came back to you. It's my fault really, I should not have been away for so long._** Konekomaru stood up on his shaky legs and brushed the dust off of himself, rubbing his broken arm, still sore from him having landed on it.

"No, it- it's fine. Thank you." Gale seemed to acknowledge this and watched as Konekomaru picked his flashlight and backpack back up. It waited until it seemed that Konekomaru had all of his things together before speaking again.

_**So, would you like for me to show you where that cave is?**_ Konekomaru nodded, then felt the weight as Gale perched on his good shoulder. He could feel the bird-demon's talons poking slightly through his shirt, but somehow, it didn't bother him. **_Very well then, just start walking that way._** Konekomaru walked in the direction that Gale pointed at with its' beak, actually glad to have the demon with him for the first time.

* * *

><p>Humans. So trusting, so kind, and so foolish. It was almost too easy. The boy was like a hungry kitten being lured in out of the rain by the promise of fish and warmth. It was almost amusing. Still, this made the events all so much easier. Gale had no problems with this boy, and it doubted that it would. Progress in this process was usually slow. The boy was weakened physically and emotionally. While the physical wounds were obvious, the emotional were something that Gale was slowly figuring out by picking through the boy's mind while creating nightmares.<p>

Either way, today was the end of the the three day trial of Gale's services. The boy could say that he promised he would trust Gale, but trust was something that had to come completely and totally. Still, Gale was like a spider. It had patience aplenty.

Gale would wait until the time was right, that's how it always worked.

* * *

><p>"So Amaimon, are you sure that you followed Gale's scent to <strong>this <strong>forest? This isn't just some excuse so you'll be able to 'play' with little brother again?" Mephisto was hovering above the forest top, his umbrella having turned into a bat that was flapping his wings, keeping him in the air. Amaimon was resting on a treetop, Behemoth sitting in his lap.

"I'm sure Ani. I double-checked the scent, then had Behemoth sniff it just to be sure." Mephisto rubbed his goatee with his other hand, thinking.

"Hm, well, very well then. See if you can find out who it is. If you find them, **don't kill them,**" he said this rather sharply, noting the gleam in the Earth King's eye at the thought of tracking prey. "Instead, I want you to bring them to me. I can only assume the worst that Gale is close to fully possessing its' host. Find them as quickly as you can, then bring them to me. **Do not**, under any circumstances, **do not** pick a fight with our younger brother, the red-haired teacher, or the teacher with glasses." Mephisto only referred to them as such because Amaimon didn't care to learn any of the names. "Do you understand me? If you do any of these things, I **will** kill you." Amaimon nodded and stood up, Behemoth jumping off his lap and onto the branch beside his master.

"Yeah, I got it, don't worry Ani, I'll obey you this time. Well, I'm off." With this spoken, Amaimon jumped off the branch and down to the forest floor, Behemoth trailing behind him in the descent. Mephisto smirked as he watched his green-haired brother drop. To be honest, this was beginning to look interesting. The only people who were in that area of the forest at the time were the teachers and students of the Cram School. Whoever it was would certainly be in trouble with him, as he did not tolerate insubordination, accidental or not.

Still, he would expect that any student in his Cram School would know never to trust a demon, no matter how nice it seemed. Still, most of the people in the school were human, and humans have errors. He pulled a cup of tea out of seemingly nowhere, as he was apt to do, and sipped it. He made a sharp-toothed grin like the one before, only this one was more vicious. The grin of a shark who had scented a lot of blood in the water and was honing in for an easy dinner.

_Well, at this point it really doesn't matter to me who it is, all I want to know is how the Gale got in and how far it has gotten into the possession process. Either way,_ he sipped some of the steaming tea once more, _the hunt is always more fun than the capture. Let the games begin._

* * *

><p>Ooh, Koneko'd better watch out. Now he's got Gale trying to possess him and Mephisto (unknowingly) out to get him. Now what's next? Another Bonus Chapter, that's what. But I warn you, it won't be all fluff and cuteness like the last one. Still, it'll provide some good insight into Konekomaru's past. Thank you Ms. Ranvensoul, for your continued, loyal reading and reviewing. I dearly appreciate it. Oh, and one more thing. As some of you may know, the next chapter I post will be the, wait for it...<p>

THE 10TH CHAPTER OF THIS STORY!

So stay tuned and don't forget to review so I can hear your opinions, ideas, etc.! Bye!


	10. Bonus Chapter 2

Konekomaru sighed as he looked at the blurry flowing waters of the river. He reached forward and dipped a hand into it, feeling the ice cold water run around his hand. It was a nice, warm summer day, and the monks had decided to take the day to enjoy some time at the nearby river. Somewhere to his left, Konekomaru could hear Ryuji and Renzo splashing around in the river. Konekomaru liked the water about as much as anybody, he just didn't feel much like swimming, so he was just sitting in the shade at the moment.

"Hey Koneko, watcha' doin' way over here?" Konekomaru looked up, shading his eyes against the sun's bright light, and saw a head full of black hair. From the voice, he knew it was one of Renzo's older brothers, Juuzo. "Come on, it's a nice day outside. You need to play outside more, you're too pale. Come on, in the river you go." Juuzo leaned down and picked Konekomaru up by his under-arms, lifting him in the air above his head. Konekomaru squirmed a bit as he was lifted into the air. He didn't particularly like it when Juuzo did this, but he was just too quiet to say so. Besides, the guy meant well. However, he did try to tell him he didn't want to swim, but the eldest Shima brother wouldn't hear of it. "Nonsense, you love the water, I know you do. And it's hot out here, it feels nice." He started to put Konekomaru into the water, but another voice stopped him.

"Juuzo, just leave the kid alone already, if he doesn't want to get in the water, then don't make him." Konekomaru, still being above Juuzo's head, could see a head of white hair. Even without the hair, though, he only needed to hear the voice to recognize Mamushi Hojo, eldest daughter and heir to the Hojo family.

"Aw, come on Mamushi, look at him." He held Konekomaru out for her to look closer at him. Konekomaru was made a bit uncomfortable at being dangled in the air like that, and he mumbled this quietly. "He's paler than a mouse. He needs the sun. And look at these little arms," at this point he pulled Konekomaru and held him to his chest with one arm, then encircled the other hand around Konekomaru's thin arm, "skinny as twigs."

"I don't care, just put him down already." Juuzo rolled his eyes and placed Konekomaru back on the ground.

"Alright, fine, I put him down. Happy?" Mamushi nodded and, with some argument, they walked off, leaving Konekomaru on his own. The small boy stared back into the river, watching the blurry water. He looked up and smiled when he heard something.

"Oh, it's you all." They were some of the river creatures, like the ones he played with in his little field. They were all about his size, but green, and they appeared to have water in their heads somehow. They gathered around him and chattered happily, splashing him with a bit of water in the process. Konekomaru smiled with joy. He pulled a few cucumbers out of his pockets and gave them to the creatures, who munched them down eagerly. Yes, it was going to be a good day for him.

–

Something was wrong. Konekomaru knew that much as soon as he left the path. First off, no small green creature came to greet him. Second, he seemed to scent a faint hint of smoke in the air. Fearing the worst, though he didn't quite know what that could be, he found his own way to the clearing. The whole thing was foreign to him, and he was slightly panicking.

The sight that he found when he got to the clearing was far beyond anything he could have feared. The whole field was barren wasteland. A few people in long black clothing stood in the center, objects held in their hands. (He couldn't make out what they were wearing and what they held, of course, because of his bad eyesight.) Konekomaru stayed crouched in the bushes and listened to what the people were saying.

"Jesus Christ, they were right, this place was infested. I swear, I couldn't have taken a few steps without stepping on one of 'em. Greenmen, dekalf, hobgoblins. I'm glad we got this place out of the way, it was basically a big death-trap. I'm glad we got this place cleared out before some kid wandered in here or something."

"I'll say," this one was a woman's voice. "Man, all I wanna' do after this mess is take a nice hot bath." Konekomaru, listening from the shrubbery, couldn't believe his ears. He didn't need to see properly to know that these people must have killed the creatures of the clearing. He could feel his eyes welling up with silent tears. How could this be? How could God, or Buddha, or any kind of deity be so cruel to a child that hadn't even done anything wrong. First his parents, and now his first friends. What had he done that was so horrible?

"Hey guys, you hear that? It sounds like we missed a couple." Konekomaru started when he heard this. Was it too good to be true, did a few of his little friends really survive the massacre from these strangers. He froze when he heard the sound of a gun clicking.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of these ones." Konekomaru looked around furiously, willing for his eyesight to be good enough to spot them. He felt a tug on his sleeve and turned down. He almost sighed with relief when he saw the familiar coloring of the creatures he cared for so much. One of them was one of the round creatures with the red limbs, the other was one of the tiny green creatures, the ones that smelled like plants. Konekomaru scooped the two into a hug, which they eagerly returned.

"Thank goodness you two survived," he breathed with relief. He tensed up, however, when he heard heavy footsteps coming towards them in the underbrush.

"I think they're over here, come on, before they get away!" Konekomaru put the two down and pushed them away. They looked back at him, but he shook his hands and waved them desperately away.

"Listen, you can't stay here. You have to go or you'll be killed! Please, I don't want you to die too." The two creatures stared at him, then turned back around and began heading into the forest. "I'm sorry, but I just don't want you to die." Konekomaru shed a single tear as he watched their colors fade away into the shrubbery. "I promise I'll find you two again, I promise..." He felt empty inside. He had saved them, sure, but now what? He was alone again, what else was he supposed to do?

He felt a sudden flaring hatred for the people who stood in his clearing. He hated them with a burning passion that most would not even believe possible for a child his age. Konekomaru began to walk away, when he heard a loud 'bang'. The tree trunk above him exploded in a shower of wood chips, they rained down upon him as he covered his head with his arms and dove down to the ground. He yelped at the wood pieces fell on him, and stood up again as soon as they stopped. He found himself looking up at the blurry face of one of the black-cloaked people.

"What the-" The one standing above him was smacked in the back of the head by another. They held their head as the new one yelled at him.

"Are you crazy or just stupid? You almost shot a kid just now!" It was the woman again, he could tell by the voice. "Hey kid," her tone was soothing now, "are you okay? Where are your mommy and daddy? Or some of your friends?" Konekomaru could feel the anger course through his veins, his tiny fists clenching tightly.

"My... my parents are both dead." He heard the woman gasp as he said this. His own tone had lost all emotion, completely devoid of anything. "And how... how could I be with my friends, when you just killed most of them?" He couldn't stop the tears dripping down his face, so he fled. He could hear the adults calling after him, but he didn't stop. He could tasted his own salty tears as they dripped into his mouth as he ran, breathing heavily. He didn't stop until he got to his own room. He closed the door tightly behind him and went straight to his little bed, pulling the covers over his head.

He just stay like that, curled up under the covers in a ball as the tears still flowed from his eyes. He sniffled as he tried to hold them back, but it seemed impossible to do this. So, finally, he just chose to let go. He silently cried. Making no sound, he just allowed the salty, sad tears drip down his face until he finally fell asleep from exhaustion and the toll all of the stress had taken on his tiny body. So, with dried tears on his face and his tiny being curled up like his namesake animal, the kitten, he slept.

* * *

><p>Well, that's the tenth chapter point. I hope this provides a bit more insight into his past. Trust me, things in his childhood are gonna get a whole lot darker from here on out, so be warned. Next chapter, we see what two of Konekomaru's greatest fears are, so stay tuned!<p> 


	11. Chapter 9

It was pretty much dark outside, but clouds were starting to come in from the distance; they covered up the winking stars with their dark mass. Konekomaru peeked around the cover he had put over the entrance to his little cave and his lips tightened into a thin line. He really hoped it wasn't going to rain. He had a fire and a blanket, so he wasn't afraid of it being cold or anything, it was... something else. Shaking his head, he pushed the cloth aside and went out to get what he was going for. The cloth was a kind of camouflage cover, one of the extra things that had been included in his pack to help him along, despite his one useless limb.

There was a tiny bit of light, and the river wasn't too far, so he could just run and fill up his little pot with water from the river to make his dinner. He didn't want to use any of his bottled drinking water to cook with, so he had decided to use the river water. Boiling it would rid it of any germs that may have been in it anyways. He felt a weight on his shoulder, surprised at how quickly he had gotten used to Gale perching there. Still, it was better than Gale silently landing somewhere and surprising him when it spoke.

_**Going somewhere?**_ Konekomaru nodded as he took a few steps.

"Just getting some water to make my dinner with." Dinner was a small instant curry packet that had also been put in his bag due to him not being able to forage for food very efficiently. He had drawn a small magical barrier around the entrance to his cave, so he didn't worry about any demons coming by, looking for the scraps from the smell. Gale had been able to slip through it very easily, but that was probably to be expected, since the barrier was only meant to keep away lower-level demons.

_**Would you care for me to go with you?**_ Gale seemed to cock its' head slightly. Konekomaru shook his head, he hadn't stopped walking and he still did as he spoke.

"I'm just getting water, I'm fi-" he stopped right in mid-sentence and froze completely, inhaling a breath sharply. The hand holding the pot gripped the handle, beginning to tremble slightly. His eyes widened and his senses seemed to spike, he was listening carefully to his surroundings. His heartbeat seemed to echo throughout the forest, it was the only thing that he could hear, it pounded in his head, beating against his chest from the inside. His breaths became shorter, more gasps than breaths, making noise as they came in and out through the mouth instead of the nose. As if he had forgotten how to breathe normally and was working hard just to keep oxygen coming in and out.

Gale's interest was piqued now. It recognized this kind of behavior, and all of the signs could point to only one thing, fear. The boy was afraid of something, but what? Then, Gale heard the noise that it had heard earlier, but had thought nothing of until the boy had exhibited signs of fear. It was a low rumble, coming from the direction of the looming clouds. As soon as the sound made itself heard a second time, Konekomaru turned the other direction and walked back to the cave as fast as he could, water seemingly forgotten.

_**Hm? What about fetching water?**_ Konekomaru got inside the cave as quickly as possible and closed the camouflage cover behind him.

"I decided just to use some of my drinking water, I can always get some more later." His sentence was rushed, like someone who was trying to hide something by speaking so quickly. Gale said nothing more, and watched as Konekomaru prepared his dinner, looking anxiously at the cover over to the cave entrance from time to time.

–

It was still during the night when he awoke. Konekomaru was awakened by something, but he wasn't quite sure what. The fire was still lit, though a bit low. Despite this, it still gave off sufficient warmth, keeping him from feeling cold. He reached to add a few more of the sticks he had gathered earlier to the small blaze, when he realized what had awakened him. A brief flash of light seemed to come from around the cracks of the camouflage cover. The sound of rain could be heard from the other side. He dropped the sticks onto the small fire and did a one-armed crawled over to the entrance, peeking outside.

A sound like many drums going off at the same time filled the air, at the same time, another flash of lightning lit up the sky like zig-zags of cracks on breaking glass. Konekomaru immediately ducked back into the cave, going to the back of it as fast as he could. He pulled his knees up to his chest and covered his ears with his hands, yelping a bit when the sound of thunder still reached his ears. His bulky cast made it hard to use one hand, so that just made it harder to try and block out the noise. He closed his eyes, blocking out the flashes of lightning, but he couldn't escape the sound of thunder. He started whimpering out of fear, he could feel himself shaking as the thunder and lightning raged on with the rain.

_Go away_, he thought pleadingly_ please just go away. I hate these thunderstorms, I hate them._ He made a small, frightened cry as the thunder boomed out again. _Why won't it just stop and go away?_ He was acting like a child, he knew it, but he just couldn't help it. For as long as he could remember, he had hated thunderstorms almost more than anything else. Even now, if one happened when he was alone or at night, he would hide under his bed or in the closet; anything to get away from the awful noise and flashes. He whimpered a bit more, his eyes felt hot and on the verge of tears. One was already gathering at the corner of his eye and was threatening to drip down his cheek.

_**What would be the matter?**_ Konekomaru didn't even open his eyes to look at Gale, he just kept his head down and clutched his hands over his ears. **_Now wait, are you perhaps, scared of the thunder and lightning?_** Konekomaru didn't even speak, he just nodded slowly, whimpering when the thunder boomed in the sky once more. _**I see...**_ Konekomaru heard nothing from Gale for a minute, but felt a kind of warm weight settling on him. It was kind of like someone had just laid a thick blanket over him. Soon, despite his fear and the noise outside, he began to feel warm and sleepy. Even the sound of thunder that terrified him so much seemed somehow more muted. His eyelids began to droop and he leaned his head against the wall of the cave, feeling more relaxed. **_Go on and sleep, I shall keep watch while you do._** Konekomaru closed his eyes, rubbing away the few tears that had gathered in his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered quietly. In what seemed to be no time at all, he did fall asleep. Gale, however, was a creature that needed no sleep. It was happy, though, because the boy had, somewhere in his heart, begun to trust him. Perhaps Gale could use this fear to control the boy further, these little thunderstorms seemed to frighten him almost as much as the dreams with the blue flames that Gale had observed.

Until then, it was time to create more nightmares.

–

Amaimon stood under a cover of tree branches, watching the rain as it fell. This made things rather inconvenient. The rain dampened the smell, making it harder for him to hunt his quarry. Patience was not a big virtue for him, even as the 'King of the Earth' as he was so called. Prince was probably more like it, considering who his father was. In his lap, Behemoth watched the liquid falling from the sky as well. Rain never occurred in Gehenna, so it was something that the two just watched.

"So, you can't smell it either Behemoth?" The hobgoblin in his lap snorted and wriggled. "I see, yeah, I can't either. It's kinda' pretty to see, but it's boring, because now we have to wait until it stops to go out looking again." He petted his familiar on the head with one hand, and chewed the nail of the other. "Yeah, I know that the Gale is close, but I don't know who it's possessing. Scent is kinda' familiar though, someone that I've encountered before... whoever they are, their scent makes me mad." He thought about it a bit more as he stared at the rain. "I feel like I wanna' kill 'em, maybe I should."

However, after he said this, he remembered his brother's words. _You won't kill them Amaimon, you will bring them to me. Remember, if you kill them, then I kill you, understand?_ Amaimon leaned his head back and looked at the tree branches above, still gnawing on the thumb-nail.

"Oh yeah, but big brother told me not to kill the person the Gale is possessing. That's no fun. Hm... maybe I should just really hurt them, big brother never said anything about that. You think I should do that Behemoth?" Behemoth was currently scratching itself with its' own hind leg, most likely relieving itself of an itch. "Yeah, you're right, I should do that. Alright then." He brought both of his hands together. He made one into a fist, placed the other over it, then pushed on the fist, producing a loud 'crunch' noise as his knuckles cracked. "When I find whoever is possessed by the Gale, I'll just beat them to near-death." He smirked in a way that was almost evil. "Big bro never said anything about that."

–

It wasn't a dark place that he found himself in, but everywhere he looked was black. Konekomaru pushed up his glasses with his one hand and looked around. Everywhere there was blackness, it was all he could see anywhere. But it wasn't dark, if he put his hand in front of his face, he could see it clearly as if he were in a well-lit room, his pale flesh contrasting against the dark environment. He seemed to be the only one there, completely alone... No, wait.

He squinted a bit and, in the darkness, he found that he could see Bon and Shima not too far away. The two of them had their backs turned to him and appeared to be conversing about something that he couldn't quite make out.

"Bon! Shima! Hey!" He called out to them, but the two didn't even seem to notice him. He waved his good arm back and forth, but he still received no response. "Guys! Hey!" He called out once more, but they seemed to not hear again. He lowered his hand as realization dawned on him. _They're ignoring me._ "BON! SHIMA! OVER HERE!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, but they gave no recognition that he even did anything. _My God, they are ignoring me._

He tried to go forward, to go up and ask why they were ignoring him. However, he ran face-first into something large and solid. He winced and backed up, then moved forward once again, cautiously this time. He held his good arm out in front of him, and stopped when he felt it press against something. It was like an invisible wall, he couldn't get past it. He stepped backwards, not believing his senses. Suddenly, just like before, he bumped right into something. It was like he backed into an invisible wall, just like the first. The same thing happened on either side. It was like... like he was trapped inside a big box.

He saw someone going towards Bon and Shima, then stop and join in their conversation. Konekomaru recognized them, it was Rin Okumura. His teeth were sharp and he was covered in blue flames, looking like a monster from his worst nightmares. Still, they just kept talking, like they didn't notice how evil and horrible Rin looked, even while right amongst them. Konekomaru went to the wall closest to the small group and began beating it with his one fist, hoping to get their attention.

"Shima! Bon! Don't talk to him! Get away from him!" They didn't hear him again, why didn't they hear him? "SHIMA! BON! PLEASE, SOMEBODY HEAR ME!" But no one did, he was ignored, alone, isolated. His number one fear, even before the thunderstorms. He couldn't handle it, being completely isolated from everyone, having a complete and total sense of abandonment. "GUYS! Listen to me!... Please..." No one really was listening to him, he was being ignored completely, even though he was right there. Not knowing what else to do, he knelled down, buried his face in his arms, and cried.

–

In the real world, Konekomaru was still asleep, curled up like a sleeping kitten. Tears dripped silently down his face, small pearls that collected and hung on his jawline before falling down to earth. While this was a totally silent affair, his sleeping face was far from peaceful. His features were heavily laced with emotion, showing all of his anguish and sadness, even in deep slumber.

Gale was pleased. Its' work was being done very smoothly, almost seamlessly. Perhaps just a few more days. A few more nights of nightmares, some proof that the boy had distanced himself sufficiently from his old friends. Of course, sufficient caution would have to be taken in order to avoid being killed or captured by Mephisto or one of his drones. Still, it was worth it... oh yes, all of that fear was definitely worth it.

* * *

><p>Aww, I feel so bad for Konekomaru, even though I'm the one writing this about him. Some of you are probably wondering about why there were two chapters posted today. Well, the main reason I did this was inspiration, to be honest. The thing is, I wrote this chapter before the one before this one, but I wanted to give Konekomaru a bit more background info before going on. Well, now you know my reasoning. I hope you all continue to read faithfully, and I shall have the next chapter up as soon as possible.<p>

Next chapter, Amaimon finds Konekomaru, and Gale along with him. And Amaimon remembers something that may just put little Koneko's life in danger.

Hope to see you all again soon!


	12. Chapter 10

It was morning yet again. The sun was shining through the trees, the light speckling on the forest floor through the leaves. Birds and smaller animals made noises as they awoke and went out into the woods to go about their business, whatever they may be. However, the exwires were up before this. By now, most of them were out and about already, camps packed up with no trace remaining. This included Konekomaru. At the moment, said young monk was making his way through the trees, ready to go on with the next day of survival training.

Konekomaru rubbed his eyes, still a bit tired from the night before. Even if he slept through the whole night, which he hadn't last night, he always felt a bit drained after a nightmare. He was still a bit disoriented, so he wasn't paying attention very much. That is, until he heard a stick snap somewhere nearby. He was immediately on the alert, looking around for the source.

"Gale, do you hear that?" Konekomaru waited for a response, but he soon realized that the weight on his shoulder was gone, meaning that it was no longer occupied by a certain bird demon. "Great, just when I might need it." He went silent again, listening to the sharp cracking of a few branches. Then, he heard a voice.

"Well, look what we have here." A rustle of brush and leaves, a cracking of branches, and someone fell in front of him from the canopy. A small, snarling object fell along with them. Suddenly, Konekomaru found himself looking right up at the Earth King, Amaimon. Amaimon, while normally tall and imposing, was positively terrifying in Konekomaru's view, especially considering that this was the very same Amaimon that broke his arm. Konekomaru was speechless with fear, looking up with wide eyes at the demon king in front of him.

"Hm, that's odd, I was tracking that Gale's scent, but it led me to you. Now why would that be? And why do you seem familiar for some reason?" Amaimon put a hand on his face, tapping his chin with his incredibly sharp, black nails. "Oh, yeah, now I remember why you look so familiar." His tone seemed to darken ever so slightly. "You were the one who made my hair puff up like broccoli, weren't you?" He down towards Konekomaru, causing said monk to back up slightly. "You know, I was gonna' save my energy for when I had to find that Gale, but I think I'll start with you. You reek of that thing anyways. Now, what to do with you?"

Acting completely on instinct and fear, Konekomaru turned and ran. However, he had gotten only a few paces before Amaimon jumped in front of him again. The green-spiked demon began walking slowly towards him, pulling Behemoth behind him.

"Hm, were you just trying to get away? Well now, that wasn't very smart. Now I might just kill you after all." He seemed to think a moment, then shook his head slightly. Konekomaru had been backing up this whole time, but when Amaimon stopped, he stopped. The Earth King held Konekomaru's gaze in his own, hypnotizing him like a snake would a mouse. "No, big brother said not to kill whoever the Gale is possessing. It might not be you, but Ani is mad enough already, and it's better not to push him." Amaimon clicked his fingernails against each other, seeming to consider something. "Now, what should I do to you first?" He stopped his nail-clicking with a final, decisive snap. "I know, Behemoth," he pulled the leash his familiar was on, releasing the clasp with a snap, "why don't you play with him first?"

Upon being released, Behemoth rushed towards Konekomaru, foam dripping from its' sharp teeth. Its' mouth was opened in a loud snarl, and it barreled right into Konekomaru, knocking him to the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of his lungs, he could feel the rocks and little wood chips from the forest floor poking their points into his back through his shirt. Behemoth growled, open mouth dripping saliva and showing off its' pointed teeth.

Then, it sniffed him. The sharp-toothed mouth snapped shut and Amaimon's familiar leaned closer, sniffing him like a dog would. Then, Behemoth got off of him and went back to Amaimon, sitting down at its' master's feet.

"What are you doing Behemoth? I thought I told you to play with the boy?" Behemoth made a bunch of snarling and growling noises. They must have translated into something in demon-speak, though, as Amaimon listened to the noises as if Behemoth were speaking. "What do you mean you won't harm the boy who saved your life?" Behemoth made one more growling noise, and Amaimon shrugged. "Oh well," he said, "if you won't do it, then I guess I will. Hey." Konekomaru, panic levels on over-drive, was trying to crawl away from Amaimon. However, he found himself being picked up by the front of his shirt and felt a hand wrap lightly around his throat. Amaimon held him in one hand, dangling him in the air by his thin, delicate (at least in Amaimon's hand) neck. "You were trying to get away from me again? Wow, you must not be very bright. Oh well, at least you'll provide me with a bit of entertainment. I see you still have something left over from the last time I played with you and your friends, don't you?" Konekomaru managed to glance down at his cast, swallowing his nervousness with a bit of difficulty. "**Don't you**?" Amaimon's grip tightened slightly, causing Konekomaru to gasp for air.

"Er, y-yes." Amaimon nodded that he heard, but didn't loosen his grip. "Wh-wha-what are you going to do?" Amaimon pondered this, lightly scratching his head with his free hand. He seemed in no rush. In fact, by the way he acted, you would think that he and Konekomaru were just having a casual conversation.

"Hm, good question. What _should_ I do to you?" He looked the boy over, still thinking. "Well, let's see here. I could always break a few more bones, maybe a couple of ribs. Or, I could always cut open your stomach and watch you bleed for a while." By how sharp Amaimon's nails felt, Konekomaru was sure that Amaimon could accomplish this task with little to no effort. Even though they were barely poking him, Amaimon's nails had pierced the skin on the back of Konekomaru's neck slightly, causing bits of blood to bead and drip down there. "No, can't let you bleed. I'm no good at healing, and big brother wants anyone associated with the Gale alive. Well, I could always just toss you into a few things and let the impact break your bones. That would be fun to watch. Hm, then again, I have the option to set some chuchi or hobgoblins on you, let them do the work. Ah, so many choices. But first," Amaimon pulled Konekomaru a bit closer, to they were practically nose-to-nose, "I still need an eyeball or two for my cousin, she loves the occult you see." His other hand opened and closed, nails brushing against each other. "Heck, I might just take both of your eyeballs. At least then you wouldn't have to wear those stupid glasses anymore."

Amaimon brought his hand closer to Konekomaru's face, the needle-sharp points of his nails pointed directly as his eyes. He pushed Konekomaru's red glasses up slightly, giving him a better access to Konekomaru's eye. Konekomaru tried to shut his eyes, turn away, anything. But Amaimon just forced Konekomaru to face him, and held open his eye with two fingers as the rest prepared to pluck his eyeballs from his sockets.

"Don't worry, this'll only hurt a lot." Konekomaru whimpered, trying to do anything to get away. Amaimon's nails came closer and closer to his eye...

Then, all of a sudden, he let go of him. Konekomaru dropped to the ground, rubbing his sore neck with his good hand as he gasped for air. Amaimon was a bit stunned, and looked at what made him let go. Like a sharp dagger, a single black feather had stabbed through his right hand, the point going directly through the palm and sticking out the other side. He tilted his head to the side in something akin to fascination.

"What?" Then, a sudden gust of wind, and Konekomaru felt himself being wrapped up in something thick and dark. Amaimon lashed out, grabbing for the young monk's leg. He could feel his nails graze the boy's calf, and then Konekomaru disappeared, taken by Gale, off to who knows where. Nothing remained in the spot where Konekomaru had been except for a few drops of blood. Amaimon watched this go on, then turned his attention to his hand. With no hesitation, he took hold of the feather and removed it from his hand, dropping the black object carelessly on the ground. "Hm, so that kid was the one that the Gale was possessing after all. I guess I shouldn't have wasted time with him. Oh well, now it'll be easier to track him, at least." He opened and closed his hand, the wound already healing. He had demonic healing powers like Rin, so his own wounds healed quickly. "So watch out kid, I'm comin' for ya'."

–

Konekomaru found himself dropped on the forest floor, still rubbing his sore neck. He coughed a bit as air returned to his lungs.

_**Does it hurt?**_ Konekomaru looked up fiercely at Gale, still holding his neck.

"Of course it hurts, that guy was going to kill me! Where were you! And why is Amaimon, the King of the Earth, after you?" Gale flitted down a bit closer so it was perched on a tree branch slightly above Konekomaru.

_**As I explained earlier, I must hide in order to protect myself, it is only for my survival. I was around the whole time, I was only waiting for the right time to strike so I could assist you in escaping. As for your second question, I have no idea why the Earth King would be after me. All I know is that he wishes, for some reason or other, for me to be gone. However,**_ Gale's voice seemed to take on a smile as he went on, **_if it were that easy to capture me, I'd have been dead long ago. Plus, I did get you out of there, did I not? Regardless of the time I took, I got you away from him before any serious harm could be done._**

"Well," Konekomaru sat up, preparing to stand. "I guess you're ri-agh!" He fell back as soon as he tried to stand, pain was shooting up his leg. "Wh-what in the..." He reached for the pain's source, his right pant leg, and found that the fabric was torn and wet. He took his hand away, and gasped when he saw blood making a thin layer on his hand. Reaching down once again, he pulled up his pant leg to reveal the damage. His leg as all bloody. Two short, yet deep lines were cut into his skin, blood coming from both wounds. Konekomaru could only stare at his wounds, not knowing what to do.

_**Hm, it appears that I was wrong on that last note.**_ Gale finally came down to ground level, right next to Konekomaru's wounded leg. **_Worry not, though, this shall take but a moment to repair._** Gale lay a wing over the injuries, feathers brushing against skin and blood. A warm, calming sensation overcame the pain, allowing Konekomaru to relax a bit. When Gale pulled the wing away, the cuts were gone, not even a trace of scarring remaining. Konekomaru chanced standing up, and found that he could do so just fine. He looked at Gale, which was now sitting on a tree branch next to him.

"Um, thank you," he said quietly. Gale stared straight at him, red eyes boring into his being.

_**I gave you a bit of extra time, boy, but your decision must be made now.**_ Konekomaru became confused, and he raised an eyebrow at the demon.

"Decision? About what?" Gale still stared at him, making him the slightest bit uneasy.

_**Our deal, boy. I said that I would give you three days to decide whether or not you would trust me. Today is the day to decide boy. Will you accept me, or shall I be on my way? Take your time boy, we can stay here until you make your decision. There is no need to rush.**_ Konekomaru's features tightened as he tried to think. Inside his mind, he weighed all of the good parts against the bad. Everything he had experienced with Gale by his side against everything he thought and knew. It seemed that he had taken ages to decide, but he finally seemed to take his choice, looking resolutely at Gale.

"... Alright." Gale looked incredulously at the boy.

_**Pardon?**_

"Alright, I accept your deal. I'll trust you." If it had the capability, Gale probably would have grinned a shark-like smile not unlike Mephisto's.

_**Very well then. The deal has been struck, and there is no going back. From here on out, I shall be your faithful servant... master.**_ Konekomaru seemed embarrassed by this title and shook his hand in front of him.

"Well, you don't have to go that far. It'll be more of a partnership than anything else, right?" Once again, Gale felt like smiling if it could. Only now, it would not be the smile of a hungry, expectant shark; it would be the smile of a shark that had just indulged on a large meal. An evil, satisfied smirk.

_**But of course.**_

–

Back at the base camp...

Shura sighed with boredom, leaning back against a tree.

"God this is so boring. I've already played the crap outta' my video game and I don't got jack squat to do right now." Yukio, who was reading at that moment, adjusted his glasses.

"Well, perhaps you ought to have brought a few books like me. They last longer. What about your familiars? Is everything all clear out in the forest?" Shura waved a hand at him.

"Yeah yeah, coast is all clear. Nuthin' bad in sight." She groaned and leaned back against the tree, but in the next second she was sitting up, alert. Yukio saw this and looked at her, prepared for something to happen. A vague slithering noise was heard, and a silvery, ghostly serpent emerged from the shrubbery nearby Shura. She looked at her familiar and crosser her arms. "What, what's goin' on out there?" The serpent hissed, then spoke.

_Misstresss, other ssscoutsss have dissscovered the pressssence of the Earth King, Amaimon. We have taken no action, and we await your orderssss._ Shura's eyebrows contracted into a frown and she stood up so she was looking down at her serpent familiar.

"This ain't good. You," she spoke to the snake, "go out and fine the exwires, tell 'em to get back to base camp immediately. Keep an eye out fer anythin' else suspicious. Is there anything else out there?" The snake nodded its' head once.

_Yesss. We have confirmed that there isss indeed another high-level demon within the foressst. However, it is elusssive, ssso we do not know what it isss._

"Alright, just get out there and find the students on the double. We don't need another fight with Amaimon, so we've gotta' get 'em all outta' here as soon as possible. The snake slithered off into the bushes, speeding off to do its' mistress's commands. Yukio, his book put away, was already packing up the base camp.

"What do you think Shura?" Shura actually began helping, but she had pulled out her sword, just in case.

"I don't know wat t' think. All I know is that we've gotta' get these kids outta' here, and fast. We don't want any of 'em running into the Earth King, especially not Rin. He'll probably be the one that Amaimon is after." Yukio agreed to this.

"What do you think of this mystery demon? Should we attempt to figure out what it is?"

"No, not right now. I'll leave some of my familiars behind to investigate, but we'll contact Mephisto fer more information as soon as we're out of this forest." Shura paused after pulling the string on the bag for a tent she had just taken down. "But whatever it is, if it's a high-level, then it can't be anythin' good. Let's just hope that no one's run into that thing either."

–

Well, this was certainly troublesome. Gale had not planned on meeting the Earth King here. Though, it did know why Amaimon was there. From what Amaimon had said, he and Mephisto were planning to eliminate Gale, and whoever it had possessed. While Gale cared not for the boy, it did require the boy. It had come too far with this one to stop now, invested too much of its' time and energy. If it lost the boy then it lost its' whole reason for coming to this place. Still, at least one good thing came of this whole ordeal.

With the boy so complacent from fear, he had promised to trust Gale. One, no, three steps further. Only a small ways to go. In a matter of a few days, all that fear and power would belong to Gale. And once the boy was entrapped in Gale's web of lies and fear, he would never escape. Ever.

–

Ooh, things are certainly getting intense up in here. Now Amaimon's out to get Konekomaru too. Let's all just hope for his sake that he'll get out of this one okay. And for those of you who are confused as to why Behemoth didn't attack Konekomaru. Well... just go back to the last bonus chapter and you'll probably be able to figure out why.

Next chapter will be another bonus. As a tiny hint for what's happening in Konekomaru's past, well, let's just say that he's not going to be feeling very well for quite a while.

Please keep reading and reviewing, it's what keeps me going. And once again, a thanks to Miss Ravensoul for all she's done. People like her inspire me, and I give personal thanks to all like that. See you next chapter!


	13. Bonus chapter 3

The morning was cool. Everything was peaceful and quiet. Not even the birds chirped outside the windows. The wind didn't blow on the windowpanes, blowing leaves to tap on the glass. However, all of these things had no effect on Konekomaru. Konekomaru was still lying curled up in his bed, sheets creating a small pocket of warmth around him, even in the cool, empty room. He hardly moved, his heart-rate was slow and calm as the morning. He should have been up a while ago, he knew, but he just couldn't bring himself to get out of bed this morning. All he could to was lay there and exist. He felt empty inside, like someone had reached into him, grabbed a piece of his very soul, and ripped a large chunk off. Then, there was a knock at the door.

"Hey, Konekomaru, you awake yet?" It was Juzo, Konekomaru could tell by the voice. Still, he couldn't even bring himself to answer. He just continued to lay there silently. "Koneko?" There were a few more knocks, then another voice joined in.

"Maybe he's not awake yet." This one was Mamushi.

"Why? He's always awake by breakfast time, no matter what." That right, it was breakfast time right about now. Strangely though, Konekomaru didn't feel hungry or thirsty. Just empty. A few more knocks at the door, then more talking from the other side. "Think we should just go in?" There was a bit of muttering that he couldn't hear clearly. But they must have agreed on that plan of action, because in the next minute, the door was sliding open, showing both Mamushi and Juzo on the other side. Konekomaru didn't see them because his back was to them, but he knew it was them by their voices.

"Hm, I guess he was asleep." He heard their footsteps come closer on the tatami-mat-covered floor, then a hand gently shake his shoulder. "Hey, Konekomaru," Mamushi whispered gently, "it's morning. Time to get up." Konekomaru, however, didn't feel he could answer fully, so he responded by curling up in to a tighter ball. Behind him, Juzo and Mamushi looked at each other worriedly. They both wondered if something was indeed wrong with Konekomaru. "Hey, it's time for breakfast, aren't you hungry?" There was a pause, and they both saw Konekomaru, ever so slightly, shake his head.

"Hey, what's up buddy, you feeling alright?" It took a moment for Konekomaru to answer this, but when he did, it was, again, only with a slight shake of the head. Mamushi leaned forward and laid a cool hand on Konekomaru's forehead. She left it there for a moment, then pulled it away.

"Hm, you don't feel warm, so it's not a fever. Does something hurt." This time, they got a nod in response. Mamushi became sympathetic and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Mm, I see. Where does it hurt? Your head? Your tummy?" Konekomaru, still not feeling up to speaking, only nodded. Mamushi tilted her head a bit, confused. "Well, which one is it? Or is it both?" Konekomaru only nodded after the second one, causing her to bring a hand over her mouth in thought. It was Juzo who finally spoke.

"Well, that's okay then. We'll just let you sleep a bit more, then we'll bring you something to eat later. That sound good?" Again, all they got in response was a nod. Juzo stood up, Mamushi not too far behind. "Alright then, we'll be back later buddy. You just rest now." Once they were sure that he had heard, Juzo and Mamushi left the room, sliding the door shut behind them. Once they were gone, Konekomaru rolled over to lay on his other side, though he remained curled up.

He sighed once they were gone, closing his eyes and pulling the blankets up over his chin. He was fine that they had left this time. To be completely honest, he didn't feel that he could get up today. Neither his head or tummy hurt, as Mamushi and Juzo believed. Rather, it was loneliness and hurt of the heart that kept him in bed. For a child his age, it was simply too much stress to bear.

This was the second time in his very short life that he had experienced loss. The first was when he lost his parents. And though he had barely been born on the Blue Night, when they had died by Satan's blue flames, it affected him deeply. He didn't know anything about them. He didn't know what they looked like or what they had hoped for him. He was never given a kiss by his mother or a warm hug from his father. And he had no other relatives to speak of either. No grandparents, aunts or uncles, cousins, and since he was the first child born to his parents, no brothers or sisters either. In a familial sense, he was truly alone.

Oh sure, he had the temple priests and families who claimed to care for him as if he were their own, but even as large a group of people as there was at the temple couldn't fill up the hole in the heart where family should reside. And, as far as friends went, aside from his demon ones who were now gone, he had none. The only other children his age around the temple were Ryuji and Renzo. And the children from the nearby city constantly bullied him because he was so small and weak. So, he often found himself feeling isolated, even when around so many people. No one really understood him, and he never wanted to bother anyone to notice him. Any negative feelings or thoughts he had, he simply kept them repressed into the corners of his mind, so as not to bother anyone he cared about. They all had their own troubles, and he couldn't possibly bother them with his. They had done so much for him already, it would be a disgrace for him to weigh on them even more.

_So, I guess I'm alone after all,_ he thought a bid sadly. _All alone..._ he closed his eyes and, somehow, managed to fall back to sleep. These thoughts floating in his head as his mind drifted off into slumber.

–

Mamushi and Juzo walked side-by-side in the hallway on their way to the dining room. They discussed between themselves how to explain that Konekomaru should rest in bed today.

"I don't know, maybe we could just tell them that he's sick?" Mamushi shook her head at Juzo's idea, dispelling it with her hand.

"No, that wouldn't be right. He's perfectly healthy. He just, I don't know... he just seems really tired. Maybe it is some kind of bug, but I wouldn't say he's sick. He seems like he's just burned out on energy. But that wouldn't be a good explanation, at least, not for someone so young. He should have plenty of energy."

"Yeah, but it seems like he really isn't feeling well. I know he wouldn't fake it, he's not that kind of kid. So, if he says he's feeling sick, then I believe him." After a bit more conversation, the two agreed to just tell the rest of the heads of houses the story about Konekomaru. They entered the large dining hall, at the moment filled with people who were eating breakfast. They went to the place where the heads of houses, their fathers, and their wives were sitting. Torako, Okami of the temple and Ryuji's mother, looked at the two incredulously.

"Oh, you're back. Where's Konekomaru? I thought I asked you to get him for breakfast." Juzo scratched the back of his head, something he tended to do when he was nervous.

"Yeah, he's not feeling too good this morning. I think it might be a good idea for him to stay in bed today." Torako immediately went into her motherly mode, beginning to fret over Konekomaru's well-being.

"Oh dear, the poor thing. What's wrong with him?" Mamushi answered her this time.

"We don't know. We asked, but he wasn't talking very much. He seemed really tired, and from what we could gather, his head and stomach are hurting. It might be some kind of bug." They heard a bit of a snort. They looked and saw that it came from one of the family heads, one of the much older ones.

"Yeah right. I know how these kids work. He's probably just trying to get out of his work. Kids today are just too lazy." Someone slammed their hands on the table and the next thing this man knew, he found himself face to face with Yaozo Shima's wife, Kayako. Next to her, Torako had also gotten up, and now he had the two fiercest women in the temple glaring at him.

"Suzuki Nakamura! I'm surprised at you," Torako said.

"Yeah," Kayako agreed. "You know Konekomaru as well as we do. He is the sweetest, nicest, quietest, most polite child I have ever met. He would never make up an excuse simply to get out of his responsibilities! I know it and I know that you do too." Suzuki bowed his head, ashamed by his earlier accusation.

"Yes, you're right, I apologize." The two women crossed their arms, still giving him the glare that only angry mothers could.

"You'd best," Torako quipped. Next to her, her husband patted her shoulder, trying to calm his wife, even though he said nothing. Calming down, Torako began to think. "Hm, I'll have to make him a little something to eat later. He's not feeling well, so maybe just some broth and vegetables, maybe with just a bit of rice. And milk, he'd like some milk." She continued fretting over the matter, thinking over how they would go about taking care of Konekomaru's seeming illness.

At the far end of the table, two certain young boys were listening to this conversation. Renzo looked at Bon, a confused look on his face. Bon, face as serious as it always is, shrugged in reply, signifying that he didn't know either. So, the two continued to listen to their elders speaking, wondering what on Earth was wrong with that weird Miwa kid.

–

Konekomaru was still lying in bed when Mamushi came in a second time. She walked in and set down the tray she had been carrying. She reached a hand out and gently shook Konekomaru, though he was already awake.

"Hey, I brought you a bit of food." Konekomaru mustered up all of his energy and managed to sit up, facing Mamushi. The white-haired girl smiled with a bit of relief, then took the small bowl of broth and held it out to him. "Drink this first, it should help your tummy." Konekomaru, managing to make out the general shape and direction the bowl was in, took it into his hands, careful not to drop it or spill its' contents, and brought it up to his lips. While there really wasn't anything wrong with his stomach, he drank it for the sake of easing their minds. When the bowl was empty, Mamushi took it from him and gave him a small bowl with about a quarter cup of rice in it. He ate this slowly as well, eating it in little clumps before putting it back on the tray. The bowl was still half-full, making Mamushi worry a bit. "Aren't you going to eat any more?" Konekomaru shook his head and Mamushi sighed tiredly.

"You don't have to worry about me." Mamushi looked at Konekomaru, who had spoken for the first time that day. He smiled at her, but not the energetic smile of a child. It was the tired, worn smile of someone who knew too much, too young. "I know that you're busy, and you don't have to do this. I'll be just fine, I'm just a bit tired today. I'll just go to the dining room if I get hungry, so there's no reason to bother yourself with bringing me food." Mamushi smiled and rubbed his head a bit, feeling the little bristles of his shaved head.

"It's not a bother, we want to do it. You're like family to us, Neko. If you need something, we're here for you, never forger that. And don't keep everything to youself. If something is bothering you, then just tell us, alright?" Konekomaru nodded slowly, Mamushi smiling softly. "Here, lie back down, I'll sing to you a bit to help you back to sleep." Konekomaru did as she said and curled back up under the blankets, pulling them up to his chin.

"You don't have to you know." Mamushi gently patted his back and smiled once again.

"I know, but I want to." Mamushi cleared her throat a bit, then began to sing the tune that had been sung to her by her mother when she was a child.

_When the moon is rising high_

_The bells start to ring_

_The stars light up the sky_

_And the cats start to sing_

_In the cool, dark summer night_

_The crickets play their song_

_The people make the lanterns light_

_While the children play along_

_The music of the night_

_Is a beautiful thing to hear_

_Everything will be all right_

_And morning is coming near_

_The cats walk on the walltops_

_And the fireflies float about_

_Even the child's nightmare stops_

_When the sun starts coming out_

_So the night has gone and all is right_

_Morning is here once more_

_The lanterns go out in the new sunlight_

_And the sun lights up the door_

Mamushi felt content as she saw Konekomaru sleeping serenely in his little bed. She felt a sudden urge to hug him, to hold him close and comfort him as if he were her own sibling. Still, something held her back from doing so. It was as if there was an invisible wall that was built up between the sleeping boy in front of her and everyone around him. There were people that you could hug and comfort and promise that everything would be alright, and then there was Konekomaru. He was, in a way, untouchable. It was like he had a certain aura of separation and isolation about him, even if he was in a place with many people. He was an island, alone amidst the seemingly endless sea of faces and voices and places.

So, while Mamushi felt the urge to hug him, she felt that she couldn't. Instead, she chose to gently place a hand upon his back, rubbing it soothingly and, she hoped, comfortingly. After a bit of time had passed, she silently got up, took the tray, and walked from the room, shutting the door behind her. With the door shut, the light from the doorway disappeared, since the windows were closed and covered with heavy curtains most of the time.

She left Konekomaru there, in a deep, dreamless sleep that slowly turned to one filled with darkness and nightmares and every one of his fears imaginable.

Note: Suzuki Nakamura isn't an actual character in Blue Exorcist. It's just a name I came up with so I could have a family head in the situation. (On a side note, his name means "little bell tree in the village")

I feel like such a horrible person when I write about his childhood like this. He's just so sad and lonely in my mind. Well, enough of that for now.

No hints for the next chapter, just to keep the suspense and interest up. I will have the next chapter up as soon as I can. Well, ta ta for now, and I'll see you next chapter!


	14. Chapter 11

After the meeting with Amaimon, Konekomaru kept on trekking through the forest, though being more careful and listening to his surroundings. Gale was perched on his shoulder, little talons gripping the fabric of his shirt. A rustle in the bushes got him at the attention. He felt the weight of Gale disappear from his shoulder, leaving it feeling empty. He prepared for the worst, tensing for whoever would be coming out from behind the curtain of leaves.

Then he relaxed when he saw Bon and Shima come climbing out from behind the bushes.

"Bon! Shima!" His friends looked up when he called, smiling when they saw that it was him.

"Koneko! We were wondering where you were!" Shima went to Konekomaru and pulled him into a playful headlock, knuckling his head playfully.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Shima laughed as he continued to do what he was doing. He only stopped when Bon stepped in.

"Alright, that's enough." Shima finally let go of Konekomaru, letting his bald little friend go free. "So, how has your time in this survival camp been?" Konekomaru got a bit quiet as he answered the question, his eyes going off to one side slightly.

"Oh, well, you know... surviving." Shima snickered a bit, leaning on his friend's head like he was a side-table.

"Well, yeah, that's kinda the point Koneko." Konekomaru smiled nervously, shifting a bit under the weight of his friend's arm. "Seriously, though, did you guys see that thunderstorm last night? That thing was freaking loud. I could barely keep my canopy from flying away, it was so windy. All I managed to do was find a couple of trees and tie my plastic sheet to them. What did you guys do?" Bon shrugged, sticking his hands inside his pockets.

"Kind of the same thing, only I actually found a tree with some good cover, so it wasn't all bad. What about you Konekomaru? Did you have any trouble finding shelter?" Konekomaru, managing to slip out from under Shima's hand, shook his head.

"Oh no. I actually stayed pretty dry last night. I found a little cave next to the river, so I was able to sleep pretty well. Other than that, my time has been pretty uneventful." This was a large lie. He had slept well after having been initially awakened by the thunderstorm, then calmed by Gale. Still, his dreams were rampant with his nightmares. Neither Bon or Shima knew that he was afraid of thunderstorms, mostly because he had never told them. He kept this kind of thing a secret from them, so that they wouldn't worry about him. This was the same reason he hadn't told them about Amaimon. It scared him, yes, but no actual harm had come of it, thanks to Gale's intervention.

"Aw man, lucky," Shima half-whined. Bon frowned a bit though. Something was off about Konekomaru today. He seemed, evasive for some reason. However, he brushed it off when he saw his friend's smiling face. If he looked like that, he had to be fine, wasn't he? A dry scraping noise from the bushes drew their attention. Shima gripped his staff, half afraid it was some kind of large bug creature crawling towards them. He lowered it, however, when he saw that it was Shura's snake familiar. All of the students knew what their teacher's familiar looked like. The creature raised its' head and looked at them with its' yellow, slitted eyes.

_Misssstresss Kirigakure hasss ordered that you return to camp immediately. It issss very important._ It turned to go off again, but then stopped suddenly. It seemed to look at Konekomaru for a moment, yellow eyes looking straight at him. Its' tongue flickered out of its' mouth, bringing the scent to its' nose. Then, it turned and left, leaving no trail of its' ghostly presence behind.

"What? Why do they want us back already? The training isn't even halfway done," Shima wondered out loud. Bon shrugged, but started walking.

"Well, whatever it is, we'd better get moving back to base camp. Come on you two, let's go." With nods, the two began following. However, Konekomaru walked in the back, on purpose this time. Somehow, he felt uneasy walking between his two friends, and wanted to keep his distance. From its' hiding place in the trees, Gale watched, an evil leer in its' eyes.

–

"So Amaimon, did you capture your quarry?" Mephisto slowly sipped a cup of tea, awaiting his younger brother's response. Amaimon kicked the dirt, scattering a few pebbles at his feet.

"Nope. The stupid Gale got its' host and flew away before I could catch it. I'll get it next time, though." Mephisto narrowed his eyes, licking the remaining tea from his lips.

"Yes, you'd best. Well, do you at least know who it is your quarry is?" Amaimon looked upwards, as if searching for the answer in the sky, then shrugged.

"Nope, can't remember their name. Or what they looked like." Mephisto had to repress a growl of annoyance that had been building in his throat. He kept his calm, smooth demeanor on the surface and smiled pleasantly to hide his inner rage. "But, if I got close enough to smell them, then I'd know 'em. It wouldn't be too hard. The person the Gale is possessing smells like fear, and milk for some reason." Amaimon shrugged at the thought of the white liquid that the humans drink. "Well, either way, I'm gonna' go see if I can pick up the scent again. Later Ani." Amaimon jumped down, disappearing from Mephisto's view.

Once on the forest floor, Amaimon walked casually through the forest, slowly cracking his knuckles one at a time. The loud 'crack's echoed throughout the trees, causing nearby forest animals and birds to fly and scurry off.

"I still don't understand why you didn't attack that boy earlier Behemoth. I ordered you to." His familiar gurgled and growled back at him. "I also don't understand what you mean by 'the boy who saved your life'. How could that shrimp have saved you?" Amaimon actually did remember what Konekomaru looked like, though not his name. He just wanted to find the kid himself without his brother interfering. It would be more fun to snap the kid's neck when it was all done anyways. "Well, either way, it'll be fun when I find that kid. I can give him payback for messing up my hair. He tilted his head to the side quickly, cracking his neck in the process, then did the same thing on the other side to repeat the process. "Now the hunt really begins."

–

The students were back at True Cross Academy sooner than they had expected. The teachers still hadn't explained their sudden withdrawal from their test, but were told that they were given a passing grade. Rin badgered Yukio for information as well, but got nothing out of his younger brother. Once everything from their trip had been put away, Konekomaru had excused himself for a walk outside. Bon and Shima had let him go without complaint, and now Konekomaru was walking the paths of the academy, looking for a shady, secluded spot where he could talk to Gale. He was so busy looking around that he accidentally bumped into someone on the path.

"Oh, I'm sorry I got in your way." He looked back in front of him and was a bit surprised to see Takara standing there. It was odd, they hardly ever saw the carrot-haired ventriloquist outside of class, not that they really spoke to him when they were in class to begin with. It was just strange to see him outside of the cram school, silent or not. There was silence between them for a moment before Konekomaru backed away a step to go around Takara. "Well, sorry for bumping into you. Excuse me, I have to-" he stopped short when Takara shoved his bunny puppet into Konekomaru's face. He was looking right into the sewn-on button eyes when Takara began speaking through the puppet, as he was apt to do.

"_Beware the dark, red-eyed crow_

_It's intention is not noble_

_As when the wolf is hunting the doe_

_The innocent's fate will be horrible_

Page 669!"

With that said, or rather shouted, Takara stepped around Konekomaru and went on his way, now as silent as always. Konekomaru couldn't help but stare after Takara, but then shook his head and went on his way, trying to find a shady spot. He finally found one underneath a large weeping willow, the leaves creating a low cover that hid him from view from the passerby. He sat there, and began to wait. However, what Takara had said to him still rang in his mind. On a whim, he pulled out the book of poetry from his bag. Frowning, he flipped the book until he reached the page that Takara had yelled at him. He saw a poem on that page, and began to read it.

Hidden Evil

_Evil is not a foreign thing_

_It is all around us in life_

_From the shine in a wedding ring_

_To the blade of a kitchen knife_

_The creatures of evil lurk not in dark_

_But with the good ones in the light_

_Never losing or missing their mark_

_It's hard to tell what's wrong or right_

_Beware the dark, red-eyed crow_

_It's intention is not noble_

_As when the wolf is hunting the doe_

_The innocent's fate will be horrible_

_Evil hides within the human heart_

_It is not a thing reserved for fable_

_It is not excluded from any part_

_And will even sit with them at the table_

_So beware not the evils_

_That hide within the night_

_Rather beware the ones_

_That stand with you in the light_

_**Ah, good day to you, young master.**_ Konekomaru looked up and saw Gale, as it always seemed to appear, sitting on a high tree branch. He placed the book down to look up at the demon. He didn't even notice when a wind blew the book shut, hiding the poem within from view.

"Ah, hello... I asked you not to call me 'master', you know."

_**Ah, yes, please forgive me, I forgot.**_ Gale fluttered down to him, landing on his shoulder. **_You seem to find yourself alone a lot, don't you? Do you not like your friends?_** Konekomaru shook his head, putting his hand up in front of him.

"Oh, no. Don't get me wrong. I care about Bon and Shima a lot. I just... well... I just need some time to myself once in a while. It gets a bit tiring, dealing with their antics all the time." Gale continued to look at him, saying nothing. "I mean, not that I get tired of them. It's just, you know, everyone needs a bit of alone time once in a while, you know?"

_**Well, if that's the case, then it seems that you require a lot of alone time.**_ Konekomaru didn't know what to say, and the Gale took advantage of his silence to continue speaking. **_Should your little friends not see when you need your, 'alone time', and then offer to give you the space you require? I thought it would only be something natural that friends would do. I am here, am I not? Am I not right here when you seem to need someone to talk to? And was I not the one there when you actually needed someone, like in that thunderstorm?_** Konekomaru clutched his good hand to his head, feeling a pounding headache beginning to form behind his temples. It was like Gale's voice was booming in his head, like the voice of the demon was his own thoughts.

"I-... I..." His head hurt, and he couldn't think straight. His thoughts began to cloud up, dark clouds as if from a storm. Slowly, though, a sound drew his attention away from his fuzzing thoughts. It was the sound, and feel, of his phone vibrating in his pocket. He finally managed to shake off the rest of the fog in his head as he answered the phone. "H-hello?"

"Hey, Konekomaru. It's Shima. The teachers want us down at the cram school now, say it's important. Me and Bon'll see you there." The line cut off, leaving only a light beeping noise in his ear. He sighed as he put the phone back in his pocket. He stood up and dusted himself off, allowing Gale to flit over and land on his shoulder. The bird-demon's beak hung near his face, like an ominous shadow.

_**Shall we go then?**_

–

Mephisto set down his teacup, which he had been slowly sipping since he had been sitting in his office. He now knew that the Gale had to be possessing one of the Cram School students, otherwise it wouldn't have been in the forest. Judging from the amount of time, it would be making the final phase of the possession soon. He smirked. Now that he knew where the Gale was, it would be easy to crush it. Interrogation would be unnecessary as well, since the student in question would most likely tell the teachers everything that happened. He had the teachers call the students together in order to warn them about the Gale. Of course, the real purpose of this wouldn't be to warn them, it would be to flush the Gale out of hiding. He folder his hands and interlocked his fingers, the smirk never leaving his face.

_Now then, time to flush this bird out of hiding once and for all._


	15. Chapter 12

Konekomaru sighed as he stood in front of the classroom door. He felt Gale's weight disappear from his shoulder as he slid the door open. He walked in, hoping that he didn't look strange to anyone, as he still had a strange pulsing feeling in his head. However, luckily for him, no one seemed to notice anything. They all went about their business, only glancing up at him as he passed. He got to where Bon and Shima were, then took a seat alone at the table behind them. Shima turned around so he was facing Konekomaru and leaned on the table with an arm, a large grin on his face. Bon followed suit very quickly, much to Konekomaru's slight dread. He really didn't feel like he could talk to anyone at the moment. He felt... vulnerable, somehow.

"Hey Koneko, what's up?" Konekomaru faked a smile. He had a lot of practice in covering up how he really felt, so he was able do so quite convincingly. At least, it looked like people believed him when he said he was okay, even when he really wasn't.

"Oh, nothing much. Just came here from taking my walk." Shima nodded, glancing back at the (most likely dirty) magazine in his hands.

"Cool, cool." He looked around, then turned to Bon. "Hey Bon, do you know when Okumura's gonna' be here? There's this new magazine I got that I wanted to show him." Konekomaru stiffened ever so slightly at the mention of Rin's name. Not enough to be noticeable, just a slight tensing of the shoulders and upper arms.

"Hm? Oh, no. But he should be here soon." The two went on discussing, seeming to forget Konekomaru was there as they got into conversation, as they normally did. Konekomaru didn't even seem to notice, though. He was more tense at earlier.

They spoke about Rin so easily, so casually. It was as if they had completely forgotten who he was and what he could do. Rin was the son of Satan, he had the blue flames to prove it. Rin's father had killed Shima's grandfather and eldest brother, Bon's grandfather, Konekomaru's own parents for goodness sake! So why did they still speak to him? Why did they still talk about him as if he were a normal person? He was not normal! He was a threat and a killer, and he could repeat the Blue Night all over again if he wanted! So how come they weren't afraid of Rin like he was?

_**Perhaps, it's because they don't think like you do.**_ Konekomaru started a bit and looked around the room, looking for a sign of Gale somewhere. It didn't seem as if anyone else had heard the voice, though, because everyone else was still going about what they were doing. **_Don't bother looking for me, boy, I am still concealed. With the son of Satan around, I don't want to risk being seen and killed._** Konekomaru understood this._** I see how you feel, boy. Your friends simply don't understand how you feel, they don't even seem to care. If they did, wouldn't they notice how worried you were about the son of Satan being here with you? They don't even know that you fear the thunder and lightning.**_ Konekomaru gripped the edge of his seat a bit, the pounding in his head returning as Gale spoke in his head._ **However, I DO understand, boy. You hate the son of Satan, but you don't want to kill him. Oh no, it's not him that you feel hatred towards. It's those little fools who trick you into believing they are your friends.**_

Konekomaru almost made a noise at this sentence. The pounding in his head grew worse, like some creature was hammering at his mind, trying to break something within.

_**They claim to be there to help you, but where are they when you truly need them? Where are they when you cry out to them, but no one comes? What do they do when you are alone and defenseless, and danger is coming towards you? They do NOTHING!**_ Konekomaru resisted the urge to clasp a hand against his head, to try and ease the pain. He was gripping the seat of his chair so tightly that his fingers had begun to hurt. And yet, neither Shima nor Bon seemed to notice anything strange about him, as they carried on their conversation right in front of him. **_Face the facts boy, I am your only true friend. When you need me, I am there. When you are in danger, I protect you! They do NOTHING boy! NOTHING! I know, I know that deep inside you hate them! You despise them! You wish that they were dead and never existed in the first place! You hate them, I know you do. Hate. Hate. Hate. HATE! HATE!_**

He was still feeling the pounding when he felt something crawling up the sleeve of his shirt. He looked down and saw a small greenman climbing up his arm. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was Shiemi Moriyama's greenman familiar, the one that she had named 'Nii'. The creature made its way up his shoulder and sat there, looking right at him. It made the soft 'nii' sound that it was named for and seemed to smile.

"Oh, Nii, there you are." Konekomaru looked up and saw Shiemi herself standing next to him. "Hello Miwa-san, sorry for bothering you, but Nii wandered off and it looks like he came over to you." Nii was still holding onto Konekomaru's neck with its' teeny little arms, like a little plush doll. "Aw, I think Nii likes you." She gave him a little look as she plucked her familiar from his shoulder. "Are you feeling alright? You look a little pale." Konekomaru gave her one of his fake smiles, hoping that she would go soon so he could deal with the throbbing pain in his head on his own.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired." Shiemi looked a bit like she didn't believe him, but was distracted when Nii started to vibrate a bit in her hands. Then, a little branch sprouted out of its' chest. The branch was bare and leafless, but it had a few bright red berries, each about the size of a small kumquat, scattered around the branch.

"What are those," Konekomaru asked. Shiemi smiled at her familiar as she picked the berries.

"Good thinking Nii." Once she had all the berries plucked, she held them out to Konekomaur. "They're Goji berries. They sat that eating them will make you happy for the rest of the day. Maybe they'll help you get over whatever mood you're in." Konekomaru smiled at her a bit and thanked her, taking the berries from Shiemi. He thanked her and she went back to her desk. He ate the berries slowly, though he didn't even taste them. His horrible headache didn't get better, or even ease up. It just kept on going, that continual, awful pounding that seemed to shoot through his brain. He finished the berries, though, because he knew that Shiemi was watching from the corner of her eye. He didn't know her that well, and it was really Bon and Shima that had a crush on her, but he didn't like making anyone worry about him. He sighed quietly and closed his eyes, feeling the thick fog settle back over his mind.

"Hey, Konekomaru, the teacher's here, look sharp." Konekomaru still felt a bit hazy, but he looked up to the front of the room where, indeed, Shura had entered.

"First off kids, I honestly don't know why ye've all been called here. Ye'll have to ask Pheles when he gets here. In the meantime, might as well catch up on some stuff." Rin groaned from the front of the room. Shura looked around the room until her gaze landed on Konekomaru. "You, Miwa, get up here." Konekomaru, starting a bit, pushed the chair back and stood up.

"Um, yes ma'am?" Shura held out a piece of chalk and pointed towards the board.

"I want you to write down the five main types of demons and what they strengths and weaknesses are."

"Um, yes ma'am." He walked up to the front of the room, feeling a bit wobbly on his feet. He took the chalk from his well-endowed teacher and began writing what she had asked on the board. His hand shook as he made the letters and the diagram that they had learned from the book. He was feeling increasingly dizzy and, even with his glasses, his vision was starting to blur. The door slid open, revealing Yukio and Mephisto walking into the class.

"Thank you, exwires, for coming here on such short notice," Mephisto said as dramatically as ever. Konekomaru had stopped writing to listen, which Shura had noticed.

"Did I tell ye' to stop writin'?" Konekomaru mentally shook himself and continued writing, though his letter slowly became smaller and sloppier as he went on.

"Well, I think it would be best if I just got right down to it," Mephisto said as he placed his arms behind his back. "As of a few days ago, my sources had informed me that a demon has infiltrated our school." He ignored the different looks and noises of surprise from the classroom and went on. "I have already sent out some of our top exorcists to search for it, but there has been no such luck. I did not want to start up a panic among the Cram School students, but I believe it would be best for you to know in case you do come across this demon. You must be very wary, as it is a mid- to high-level demon and is very dangerous. It is a fear demon, so it will try to take advantage of your inner weaknesses, but as long as you keep a steady head and don't let it get to you, you will be fine. This demon goes by the name of Ga-"

Mephisto stopped in mid-word as a horrible 'screech' noise sounded in the room. Many of the students, and the two teachers, covered their ears to block out the noise. Shura, recognizing the sound of something screeching against a chalkboard, whipped around to the front of the room.

"Hey! What's yer problem Mi-" She stopped when she saw that Konekomaru had collapsed on the floor, lying hap-hazardly on top of his cast in the direction he had fallen in. "Oy, you alright?" She knelled down next to him and shook his shoulder, but got no response. It soon became clear the he was completely unconscious, as nothing she did was waking him up. Shura swore and looked up at Yukio. "Hey, Four-Eyes, I think the kid passed out, couldja take 'im to the nurse's office?" Yukio sighed and nodded. Bon and Shima had gotten out of their seats and made sure that their young teacher had a good hold on their little friend before carrying him off.

Mephisto narrowed his eyes as Yukio carried Konekomaru off to the school nurse. It seemed as though he had found who he was looking for.

_And Bingo was his name-o,_ he thought in an almost amused manner.

–

Everything was ready. It had been a close call, but Gale had prevented the boy from finding out what it really was. The crow demon was like a master chess player, about to check-mate an opponent. All the pieces were in place, all opposition was eliminated from the equation. Now all that was left was the victory. It was the last leg, as the humans said. All cards were down and there was nothing left for anyone to do about it. The boy belonged to Gale. Gale had won.

_**Check and mate.**_


	16. Chapter 13

It was all dark. The light flashed here and there, then disappeared as soon as it came. The world was inconsistent in sound. One minute everything was silent as a dead corpse, and the next it would explode into sound. Yelling and footsteps and strange machinery all around. Faces flashed before his eyes as he opened and closed them slowly.

He saw his classmates. Shiemi, Izumo, Rin, and even Takara. But, not once did he see the faces of his two friends. He did not hear their voices calling out to him from the darkness as they should have been. He was alone. He was in a big, dark, empty space with nothing at all surrounding him. The only thing there was a dark, heavy presence that hung over him like a storm-cloud. Always there. Always waiting.

* * *

>Always watching.<p><p>

–

Konekomaru opened his eyes slowly, he had no idea where he was or what had happened or how much time had passed since he had blacked out. His vision was extremely blurry, most likely because he wasn't wearing his glasses. It was a struggle, but he managed to get himself into a sitting position against the head-board of the bed.

_**Ah, so you have finally awakened.**_ Konekomaru didn't even need to look at the direction Gale's voice was coming from to know that the bird demon was sitting on the bed-post. **_You most likely have questions about what events have occurred, so I shall answer them. You fell unconscious for unknown reasons in your classroom. You are currently residing in the True Cross medical facilities. And you have been in this unconscious state for approximately three days._** Konekomaru slid his fingers around on the table, feeling for his glasses so he could see. He managed to find them and placed them on.

"So, what about my friends?" Gale had been anticipating this question, and had thought up the perfect lie to answer with.

_**Alas, neither of them came to visit you while you were in your unconscious state. I have been sitting here, by your side, the entire time. However, I saw neither of them even come into the room.**_ Konekomaru tried to process this information, not believing what he was hearing.

"But... that...that can't be right. They would never just leave me here. They would come and see if I'm alright, just like before... Wouldn't they?" The Gale looked at him with crimson red eyes that gave away no emotion.

_**You are tired. Why don't you have a bit of rest? You deserve it.**_ Konekomaru was feeling very drowsy all of a sudden, despite the fact that he had just come out of a three-day sleep. He didn't even bother to take off his glasses before he lay back down. He curled up on his side, mindful to keep his cast above the covers so as not to disturb it during his sleep.

"Yeah, I'll do that... Will you still be here? You won't leave?" Gale narrowed it's eyes, dark body seeming to grow even darker by the second. The next words it spoke were the last things in Konekomaru's mind as he drifted off.

_**I wouldn't dream of it.**_

–

Everything was dark again. He was moving. Not running, but not walking either. He was trying to find, to remember... something. He didn't know what it was, he just kept searching. But, he was lost, no sense of direction other than left or right. There was no end to the dark, it went up and down, side to side, he didn't even know if he was walking straight. Direction had no meaning, as did distance, but he still kept going.

"Hello?" He called into the darkness, though he didn't know who he was expecting to answer him. "Hello, is anyone there?" He thought he heard laughter, a harsh, deep sound, resonate around him. It was too hard to tell where it came from, so he called out again. "Who's there? Can you hear me?"

"We're right here." Konekomaru looked to his left, and felt a twinge of relief when he saw Bon and Shima standing some ways away from him.

"Guys, you're here..." He looked around him. "Um, where is here anyway?" Bon grinned harshly, not moving.

"Why don't you come over here and we'll tell you?" Konekomaru's legs moved all on their own, and he soon found himself running towards his friends. But, he didn't seem to be going anywhere no matter how much he ran. He tried to run harder, faster. The distance didn't lessen, it just was there. He finally had to stop, bent over at the waist as he gasped and panted for breath. When he finally had enough wind in him to talk "Bon, Shima, I can't move. Something weird is going on here. Can you guys come to me?" Shima smirked at him, cruelly eyeing him.

"What? Is the little kitty too weak to even walk a little? Come on, Bon and I are strong enough to do it, why can't you?" Konekomaru, feeling a tightening sensation in his chest, tried again.

"If you can get over here, why don't you?"

"Why should we help someone who can't even help himself? You worthless little weakling." Konekomaru looked at them, trying to comprehend why they would subject him to this.

"Guys, please, I need your help." The two grinned mercilessly at him, arms crossed over their chests.

"No, we don't want to help."

"But why?" He actually yelled this with tears threatening at the corners of his eyes. He just couldn't do it, he couldn't get to them. They were his friends, so why weren't they helping him? They were his friends, right? "You're my friends, why won't you help me when I need you?" Bon, still grinning, opened his mouth and spoke five world-shattering words for Konekomaru.

"Who says we're your friends?" The world changed right then. There was no explanation for it, it just did. One minute they were there, in the darkness, and the next they were someplace else. Konekomaru didn't question this, as one normally wouldn't in a dream. But, it was so real, so truthful, how could it be a dream? Was this real? If not, what was it?

Konekomaru found himself in a familiar setting this time, in the classroom of the cram school. For some reason, he was standing in the corner, looking at the rest of the room. The wall felt solid enough, so it had to be real. He soon realized that there were three other people in the room. There was Bon, Shima... and Rin. Konekomaru's eyes widened as he backed into the corner he was standing in. Rin, while he didn't look any different than he normally did, was covered in those awful blue flames that Konekomaru feared to much. Bon and Shima were standing there, talking to him, but didn't seem to notice the flames.

Konekomaru felt that sudden urge, the need to protect those he cared about the most, though they had been mocking him not a moment ago. He tried to go to them to do... something. He had no idea what he was going to do, but he had to do something. He moved forward, trying to get to them, but ran into something. There was no physical barrier, nothing that would stop him from going forward. But, when he put his hand out again, it stopped right in the air. It was as if there was an invisible barrier between him and the rest of the world. Still desperate to help, he hit the invisible wall with his one good fist, trying to get their attention.

"Bon! Shima! Can you hear me? Get away from Okumura!" To his relief, Bon and Shima looked at him, but only smiled those merciless grins they had smiled before.

"Why? He's not doing any harm. He's fine." But, as they said this, the whole room was beginning to go up in blue flames. They were oblivious, even as the flames surrounded them. "Why are you so afraid? It's not doing anything." Their words were sarcastic and mocking. Even as they said this, though their flesh began to burn and blister. Konekomaru backed into his corner, closing his eyes as he tried to block out the horror around him.

"NO! You're wrong! Okumura is evil! Why can't you guys see that?"

"See what?" The two he called his friends stood before him now, their burning, blackening flesh up close and more visible than ever. He could see as their skin peeled away from flesh and muscle and as heat-brittle bones began to crack. Bon placed a hand against the invisible wall, fingers curling in on themselves. "All I see is a scrawny, weak, worthless little child who can't do anything for himself. Who has to always go crying to others when he can't do something." Konekomaru gripped his hands together, trying to hold back the sudden surge of anger that replaced the urge of protectiveness.

"No, Bon. That... that's not true." Bon leaned in, all teeth showing in a wide, awful grin.

"Is it? Is it really?" The world around him changed again. It was all black again, but Bon and Shima were right next to him, standing above him. Their faces were filled with hatred and malice. Before Konekomaru could even say anything to them, he felt a sudden pain in his side. Shima had lashed out and kicked him hard, causing him to double up. He never really experienced physical pain (though he had plenty of emotional pain) so it was a significant shock to his system, though not as much as when his arm had been broken by Amaimon.

"Sh-shima! Why did you-" his words were cut off when another solid kick, this time from Bon, was delivered to his stomach. The rest of the air in his lungs rushed out, making him gasp and cough. He was kicked a third time, though he was still recovering from the last so he couldn't tell who it was from this time. "Guys! Stop! Why are you kicking me!" They grinned down at him again, coldly and heartlessly.

"I don't know, why are you so worthless?" Bon didn't wait for another answer as he delivered another kick to the smaller monk.

"Guys, please, stop..." Konekomaru was begging by this point, he could feel one tear dripping down his face. "I-i care about you, so why are you hurting me?"

"How do you really feel?" Shima asked this slowly, as if asking someone who was incredibly stupid. "Come on, you may be blind without those stupid glasses, but I know you can hear me. How do you really feel about us, hm?" Konekomaru, now able to get on his hand and knees, looked down at the ground, sweat and tears dripping down his face.

"I...I..." He closed his eyes as he whispered, "I hate you." There, he said it, it was out in the open. "I- I hate you both, I always have." His hand clenched into a fist, trembling violently. "You've always been smarter, faster, stronger, better than me. You both have families that love and care for you. You've never had to be forced into adulthood responsibilities and miss out on your whole childhood. I hate you both for all of that. I hate you! I hate you and I just want you to go and leave me alone! I hate you both! I JUST HATE YOU!"

He awoke sharply, tears dripping down his face and his heart-rate fast. His head jerked around, looking for some source of comfort. Namely, he was looking for Gale.

"Gale? Gale, where are you?" He got no response. Instead, he felt something small fall onto his lap. He looked down and only barely registered the small black book of poetry before a harsh gust of wind blew from out of nowhere, flipping the book's pages forcefully. When the wind stopped, Konekomaru looked down at the poem it had landed on. He realized that it was the same poem that he had first read out of this book. Only, now it seemed... different. Without meaning to, and still shaking with tears leaking from his eyes, he began reading it.

Shiver, shiver, creak and creep,

That's all that she can hear.

She doesn't want to go to sleep,

There's nightmares coming near!

She tosses, turns from side to side,

It doesn't seem to end.

Horrors wait, their time they bide,

Dark messages to send.

She falls into deep, troubled sleep.

She wants to wake, frights want to keep.

Brightly shimmer bitter tears,

Terrified, she screams.

Her mind plays with all her fears,

Even in her dreams.

Hidden from the troubled eyes,

Paranoia brings slow demise.

He stopped cold. The last stanza was different than the last time he read it. With growing dread, he read the last bit.

Shiver, shiver, creak and creep,

A coffin's rolling near.

She didn't want to go to sleep,

But now she's sleeping here

In terror, he screamed. Then the wind came back and the darkness took him.


	17. Chapter 14

Bon was worried. Well, he was always worried about one thing or the other, but this was different. Konekomaru had passed out for no apparent reason, right in the middle of class. Something was wrong, and he didn't know what. He cared deeply for each of his friends, but Konekomaru was different. The boy had always been... smaller, weaker, more defenseless. He was the smaller brother that needed to be protected and cared for. Both he and Shima felt this way.

He walked up to the door of the hospital room, where Konekomaru had been less than a week ago. He went in without knocking, knowing that Konekomaru would still be unconscious, or even if he wasn't Bon knew that Konekomaru wouldn't mind him coming in without permission. He opened the door softly, in case he was out of his coma-like state but was sleeping.

"Konekomaru? You awake, buddy?" He looked around, and the sight shocked him. Konekomaru was nowhere to be seen, and the room was a mess. It was as if a whirlwind had just torn through. The sheets on the bed were torn and rumpled, the odd pieces and bits from around the room were sprawled all over, and there were strange black feathers everywhere. And to make matters worse, the small monk who had been occupying the room was nowhere to be seen. "Konekomaru? Koneko, where are you?" Bon stepped into the room, dropping his bag into a nearby chair. He placed his hand on the bed, as if trying to feel where the small monk may have been. He paused, then dug under the cloth until he came up with a small book with a black leather cover.

He opened it up to the front cover, though he didn't know why. When he saw what was printed there, he dropped it and raced from the room, intent in finding a teacher as quickly as possible. The pages were blank except for a single note, which was what made him react so. It read, very simply,

_Your friend is mine now, and you will never get him back. I send you his lowest regards._

_~ Gale._

–

Shima was walking alone, head leaning back in his hand and contentedly sipping a cup of coffee. The air was warm, and the coffee tasted good. Everything felt right with the world. Feeling a breeze blow, he got a slight chill that ran up the back of his neck. The examination of all the entrances to the school had been finished a while ago, and he was just chilling, though now it was literal because of the coolness of the breeze that continued to blow. He glanced to the side of him, at the trees and flowers, all of them as still as a picture. He froze. If there wasn't wind blowing on any of the plant life, then why was he feeling one right now?

Hearing a soft whooshing sound, barely louder than a wooden ball rolling on cloth, he just managed to duck as he felt something swoop over his head, just brushing his hair. He dropped his styrofoam cup, his coffee spilling and running into the cracks in the sidewalk. A large black shape turned tail and landed, looking at him with evil red eyes. Fumbling in his jacket, he just managed to get a hold on his k'rik before it flew forward again. On instinct, he stuck out. He felt his staff connect with a hard jarring feeling. The things flew back again, landing nimbly on its' feet, or claws, or whatever the heck it used. Shima looked at it, and it spoke.

_You..._ it was a dry sound, and smooth, yet fierce, _you always caused so much pain, misery, agony._ Shima was startled, he didn't know it could talk, and he had no idea what it was, or what it was talking about. Then, it hit him, this was the Gale that they had been looking for all day. Gripping his staff with both hands, fearing the worst, he tensed at its' next words._ So much pain, and for that... YOU DIE!_ It rushed forward again, he barely managed to jump out of its' way before it hit him, but it only turned on a dime and turned right back around to strike him. He counter-attacked with another blow from his staff, but this hardly deterred it. The Gale only stuck again, knocking him in the chest and making him lose his wind. Then it hit again and knocked him to the ground.

Shima felt his phone vibrate in his pocket as the Gale swooped down upon him. He put his staff up sideways, and it his that instead of him. Arm shaking with effort, he hit the speaker-phone on his cell and listened to who was talking as he added support with the other hand.

"Shima! Where are you?" Shima smiled nervously out of habit, though Bon couldn't see him.

"Oh, you know. Layin' around, havin' some coffee," he grunted with the effort of holding the creature back, "fighting for my life with a gigantic bird demon. But other than that, I'm just dandy."

"You're fighting with that crow demon now?" Shima managed to roll out of the way as the Gale brought its' hind legs down to get him. He stood up, trying to stay loose.

"Yeah, funny thing. It's not really a crow anymore. It's more of a-WOAH GEEZ!" He dodged another blow, from the talons, one that might have gotten him in the stomach if he hadn't moved in nick of time. "Yeah, it's more of a... whaddaya'callem? Griffin! That's it. It's a Griffin now. Anyways, if you wouldn't mind would you-" he ducked as a taloned appendage swiped and nearly missed taking his head off, "GET OVER HERE AND HELP ME ALREADY?"

"I'm on my way now Shima," Bon yelled into his phone. "I've already told the teachers about it, they're getting on it now."

"Awesome," Shima said sarcastically. He yelped and made a rolling motion, moving away from the creature again.

"Shima," Bon's voice came on again, but he sounded different. More... tense. "Shima, that Gale, it's found someone to possess. It's possessing-" He never got to finish, at that moment, the Gale made a single flapping motion with its' wings, sending Shima flying. He hit a wall, and his phone flew out of his pocket and hit the grass some ways away. He couldn't hear Bon yelling and asking what was happening, as he was now fully fighting for his life. But he couldn't keep it up for long. After a while, he was doing more of a defensive run. Finally, the staff was knocked out of his hands and spun through the air until it stuck into the ground some ways away. The Gale was nearly upon him, it's black wings spread wide as it swooped directly at him.

"Mr. Shima, duck!" Just as someone shouted this, two small shapes whizzed over his head and hit the demon directly in the chest-area. Something liquid spurted from the projectiles, splashing the demon with something that looked like water. Judging from the hissing and the agonized shriek of pain that came from the demon, Shima guessed that those had been holy water bullets. When the Gale retreated a few paces, Yukio ran up and stood in front of Shima, guns raised and ready to shoot. Shura came up next to him at the same time with her sword drawn.

"Oh thank God!" Shima exclaimed. "I'm saved!" The demon heard his exclamation, and it chuckled darkly.

_Do not think you are saved yet, boy. I am only just getting started._ The Gale rushed forward again, dodging and ducking around Yukio's holy water capsules and bullets and Shura's sword slashes. Yukio turned to the female exorcist, who had just finished a round of distance attacks on the creature.

"Easy Shura. Remember, we have to use non-lethal attacks!" Shura rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah yeah, I know." Shima was confused by this.

"Why are you only using holy water? Aren't you trying to kill that thing." Another dark chuckle escaped from the Gale. It glared past the exorcist teachers and right at Shima.

_Of course, **you** would want me gone Shima. **Him** too._ Apparently this last one had been directly at Bon, because the Gale only said this when Bon came up and helped Shima to his feet.

"Bon, what is going on?" Bon gave Shima a serious look.

"I told you, the Gale has possessed someone. It's-" He never got to finish, because the Gale had released another wind blast. The Shura and Yukio were forced to leap and tumble out of the way, leaving Bon and Shima wide open in the hole. Seeing this with hawk-eyes, the Gale zoomed forward like an eagle, going for them like a falcon honing in on prey. Bon opened his mouth to speak a chant, but Shima had faster reaction time. With a yell, he swung his staff, which he had retrieved, forward and slammed the butt of it into the creature's face. Bon had barely yelled "Shima no!" as it connected. The demon backed off with a screech of pain. The clawed appendages went to it's face and grasped itself in pain.

"It's okay Bon, I got it," Shima said confidently. Bon glared at him, getting in his face.

"You idiot! That thing is possessing Konekomaru!" Shima went slack-jawed as what Bon had said sunk in. He looked at the griffin-creature, now **really** looking at it. Now he saw the thick cast wrapped around one of the arms, but not only that. He saw that the creature had no lower beak. Where the lower half would have been was replaced by the head of someone, and that someone was Konekomaru. He heard a tinkling noise and saw a pair of shattered red glasses fall to the ground. When his hit had connected, he had shattered Konekomaru's glasses, unknowingly jamming the broken shards into his friend's face. The creature that had his friend shrieked in its', and Konekomaru's, pain. But then, the shrieks turned to a low chuckle. The chuckle elevated into a dark laughter, making the two friends uneasy. Then, the creature spoke, now even using Konekomaru's voice.

_That hurt. Of course, you both have always hurt me. But no longer. Now, I'm the one who gets to hurt you! This time, you'll be the one to feel the pain._ The Gale raised its' head, letting Bon and Shima see the face of their smaller friend more clearly. Konekomaru's face was lines with black blood vessels. His eyes were as red as those of the demon that was possessing him. Slowly, he reached up and picked the shards of broken glass from around his eyes, letting them drop to the floor, not caring about the small drips of blood that dribbled down his face. Konekomaru was grinning manically, his face matching the tone of voice the Gale used to speak for him. _Now you feel the pain. Now you will know how I feel. NOW YOU WILL DIE!_

–

Hello everyone. I just want to say to everyone who was so patiently waiting, I'm sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I've had a lot of stuff to do lately, I had to get other fanfic ideas out of my head, I had school work to do since I'm so near finals and the end of the year. Once summer comes, I'll be sure to try and update more often. Well, I'll be leaving you with a cliffhanger for now, because I shall be continuing soon. That's a promise. And thank you to my anonymous reviewer 'Arata' for giving me the last jump-start of inspiration to help me continue on. Readers are my inspiration, but it doesn't hurt to get a review. I shall see you when I next post. For now, I'm out. Peace~


	18. Chapter 15

They weren't sure how long the fight went on. After Shima had discovered that it was their own friend that was attacking them, he became a lot more careful in his defense. He made sure his blows were hard, but not meant to cause pain. The teachers were trying their best to drive Konekomaru away from Bon and Shima, while at the same time keeping him in close so he wouldn't escape.

"Shura! On your right!" Yukio shouted as a group of feather-knives came hurtling at Shura. She easily deflected them with a swipe of her sword, then returned with a slash that came very near to the Gale's wing.

"Don't sweat it Four-Eyes. I got this SOB." Gale glared at them, causing Konekomaru to as well.

**Things are becoming increasingly difficult** Gale whispered inside Konekomaru's mind. **If we go on like this, then it will only be a matter of time before they bring in reinforcements and we will be defeated. We must flee now, before we are captured.**

"Alright," Konekomaru whispered in his own voice. The Gale took over all functions once again, speaking in it's own shadowy voice.

_**You live another day, roaches. But I will be back for you.**_ With this, Gale sped off, not into the sky, but into the thick cover of the trees.

"Damnit," Shura muttered. "Yukio, quick, after 'im!" They both ran ahead and she yelled back at Shima and Bon. "You two get into one of the buildings for cover, we're goin' after him!" with a look of concentration on her face, she and Yukio ran for the tree-line. Bon and Shima, though reluctant to leave, both ran into the safety of the nearest building.

–

Gale flitted through the trees as swiftly and easily as a shadow. Konekomaru's eyes were down, looking at the ground. Almost as if he were thinking hard.

"They're still alive. I couldn't kill them," he muttered to himself. He felt the darkness of Gale tighten around him, clutching him more firmly.

_**Only this time. Do not fret young one, they shall have their comeuppance soon enough. They shall know the pain you have been through, then we shall kill them. It is only fair, after all, that they know the pain that they inflicted on you, is it not?**_ Konekomaru still felt unsure. **_You trust my word, don't you?_**

"Of course, I'd trust you with anything. You always know what's right." His words were hollow and empty. This was the power of the Gale. It was like a controlling parasite. It latched on, burrowed itself in, then took control of everything the host did and felt. The host hardly even knew they were being controlled. The Gale halted in it's flight suddenly. "What's-" Konekomaru looked ahead, and he saw why they had stopped.

"So, we meet again." Amaimon stood on a branch, nonchalantly sucking on a lollipop. "I finally found you again." He smirked, spitting out the clean lollipop stick. "You know, I could hurt you in so many ways for all the trouble you've given me since I started chasing you." He put his hand forward, forefinger curled so the nail was touching the pad of his thumb. The Gale prepared to disappear, but Amaimon was too fast, even for the Gale, and grabbed its' wing. "But, big brother said I can't do any serious harm, so all I can do is this." He touched his curled fingers right between the Gale's red eyes, smirking. "Bye bye." He let go of the demon's wing and flicked it between the eyes, sending it flying and crashing though the tree branches.

–

The meeting with Amaimon barely took more than a couple of minutes, and Shura and Yukio were barely into the trees "Four-Eyes, come on! We've gotta' catch up before-" Shura skidded to a stop and stopped talking. Over their heads, a sound of something breaking the branches as it flew through the air. Then, the Gale came crashing through, back the way it came, but going backwards. Then, it broke the treeline and landed back where the fight had taken place, barely landing on its' feet.

_**Damn you! I shall destroy you all, even you!**_ Just as it was about to take off again, a single voice sounded in the night.

"_Eins._" A ring of fire formed around it, trapping it within. Gale's eyes widened, recognizing what was going on. It tried to fly out, but the fire created a dome-like barrier, trapping it within.

_**No! I shall not be captured, not by you exorcists! **_Shura and Yukio burst back out of the woods, halting suddenly at the sight.

"_Zwei_." A group of symbols formed within the fiery ring, the Gale began thrashing about, trying desperately to escape the circle. "_Drei_." It blazed in a single, fiery flash, the symbols burning in the night. The Gale let out a loud scream of pain, the light flashed until it was blinding. Then, as suddenly as it began, it was gone. Only Koneomaru lay in the center of the circle, which was now burning itself out into embers.

"What on Earth..." Yukio muttered. Shura hesitated no longer and ran to where Konekomaru lay, stepping over the cooling embers. She pulled a piece of paper from a pocket in her jacket, unfolded it, and placed it on Konekomaru's chest. She bit her thumb to draw blood and drew a pentagram on the paper in her own blood. She closed her eyes and made a sign with her hands as she whispered under her breath.

"Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.*" The paper glowed for a second, then faded so it looked like normal paper again, save the blood symbol on it. "There, that oughta' do fer now." She stood up, looking down at her handiwork. "I can't exorcist the thing right now, but I can at least keep 'im unconscious and not attacking us for a while."

"Nicely done you two." They turned, looking at Mephisto. "I hope my demon dampening seal was enough help." Shura nodded, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. Listen Pheles, we've got to get this kid outta' here before someone comes out here and before those dampening seals wear off." She frowned, looking at the paper seal she had placed on Konekomaru's chest. Already it was starting to singe and curl up at the edges. She swore under her breath. Yukio picked him up, mindful of the seal. 

"Where would you like us to take him Sir Pheles," Yukio asked. "The Japan Branch Head Quarters?" Mephisto shook his head as he twirled his umbrella.

"No, not there. I don't want to put something so dangerous as that Gale there, especially since it's possessing someone." He pointed the tip of his umbrella at Konekomaru as he said this, then put the point into the ground and leaned on it. "I say take him to the Cram School classroom." Yukio looked questioningly at the director until Mephisto spoke again. "It will be the best place to exorcise the demon after all. I trust you two can do this without my assistance." Shura opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when Mephisto tossed something at her. She caught it easily in one hand and looked at it. It was some kind of necklace. The stone was a swirling orange-red color and had a silver clasp and chain. "I trust you know what to do with that. Oh, and you'll probably want to call up the students of the cram school as well. You know why." Shura nodded, clearly annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know what to do. Come on Four-Eyes, let's go." They went on their way, Yukio carrying the unconscious Konekomaru as Shura texted the students with cell phones. "Why the hell does that clown always have to make things so difficult?"

–

It took about an hour for the esquires to be gathered and for the teachers to get the room ready for containment. A magic circle was drawn in the ground and holy water was held in reserve just in case. When Bon and Shima walked in, Konekomaru was already in the middle of that circle. His face held no traces of the injuries from his shattered glasses that Shima had unintentionally caused. Both of his arms were folded over his chest, the good one over the one with the cast. He looked so quiet and small and peaceful, it was almost like he was only sleeping, and not held under a spell to contain the demon that had taken residence within his body.

"Koneko." Bon tried to go to his friend, but Yukio stuck his arm in front of him and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Mr. Suguro, but we can't have you going too close to him yet. The seals are only temporary and can only keep him contained so much. The Gale still controls him, so he wouldn't be him, even if you tried to talk to him." Bon stepped back to where Shima was. It felt awful, looking at their little friend when he was in need and not being able to do anything to help him.

The worst part was, the teachers had told them everything about Gales and how they operated. If all that information was true, then their friend had to have been influenced by it for at least a week. How they didn't realize their friend was being tormented right in front of them, without even the slightest clue, it was unfathomable.

"He's wakin' up," Shura warned. She looked at Bon and Shima, giving them a serious look. "Look, I want you to promise me something. No matte what he says, what he does, or how he looks, I don't want you two going near him. That's not your friend in there right now, no matter how much it looks like him. Alright?" Bon and Shima nodded solemnly, and Shura knew that they understood.

Konekomaru opened his eyes, sitting up slowly. His eyes, while normally close to red with their bright hazel color, were now full on blood-red. A dark aura seemed to surround him as he looked at them. He looked down at the seal still on his chest, then grabbed it and ripped it off before tossing it aside. When he spoke to them, he didn't even face them. Konekomaru's voice was not his own, but the voice of the Gale as it spoke through him.

**Do not think that you can contain me, exorcist scum. I will escape, and when I do, I shall kill both of the boy's friends.** Shura knew that Bon and Shima were surprised, but got down to business.

"Why are you trying to kill them? Couldn't ya' just fly off with him and get out of here without trouble?" Konekomaru, or rather, the Gale in Konekomaru's body, smirked, revealing that it had caused his teeth to lengthen and sharpen.

**Wouldn't you like to know.** Shura's eyes narrowed, then headed for the door, motioning for the students to follow her out into the hall. Yukio stayed behind, holy water at the ready in case the Gale tried anything funny. When the door was shut tight, Shura addressed the students.

"Well, we don't know everything, but now we at least know what it's planning." Rin raised an eyebrow, looking confused.

"Um, did I miss a memo or something? 'Cause I have no idea what you're talking about. All I know is that it wants to kill Bon and Shima for some reason." Izumo nodded, agreeing with him.

"Okumura is right. We have no idea what it would accomplish by doing that." Shura crossed her arms, shifting her weight so she was leaning on one foot.

"Look, you all know how Gales operate. They trick the host into trusting them, then take control and feed on the fears of their host. A Gale's main methods are to exploit fear, and to sever any connections to the host's former life. That is what it's trying to do. If it eliminated Suguro and Shima, then there would be nothing that could hold Miwa down, or help Miwa regain control and force the Gale out. It is possible for a person to force a demon from their body, but it takes a great amount of will-power, and it gets even harder when a fear demon like this is in the equation." Bon frowned, knowing how serious this all was.

"So, how do we help him then? If we can't talk to him and the Gale is repressing him too much, then how are we supposed to help him?" Shura smirked, then reached into her jacket pocket. She came out with the necklace that Mephisto had given to her, though the students didn't know this.

"I was getting to that. This," she waved the necklace for emphasis, "is a yume stone. In older times it was used as a way to interpret dreams. Later on people discovered how to use it to actually go _into_ their dreams. But now, we've figured how to enter the subconscious even when the subject is awake." Shima's eyes widened as the meaning of what Shura said dawned on him.

"Wait," he said, "you don't mean-"

"Yup. We're going into his mind."

–

*The verse Shura used is from Psalms 34:13

Ooh, things are getting serious up in here. Next chapter will be another glimpse into the past, so I hope you can wait for the continuation of this. Thanks to all of you for being so patient. And thank you Arata for encouraging me to go on with this story. I shall continue soon. Watch out for Gales!


	19. Bonus Chapter 4

Juzo grimaced as he walked down the hall, tray of food in hand. It had been three weeks since Konekomaru had claimed to not be feeling well. They had initially thought to just give him time and let him rest, that it was just a bug. Now, though, it had gotten more serious. He hardly ever moved unless it was to go use the restroom, and even then someone had to help him, as he would lean heavily as though he could hardly carry his own weight; he had gotten even thinner than he normally was, and so pale his skin was almost milk-white; and while he didn't eat very much on a normal basis, it was almost like he was eating more of a few bites than a meal. The worst part, though, was his eyes.

His eyes were usually a bit glassy-looking, mainly because of his bad vision. But lately, his eyes had begun to seem more... empty. It was like someone had sucked the life out of his gaze, leaving his hazel-red eyes as little more than cloudy mirrors. They let you see nothing on the other side, none of the emotions or any of his thoughts. To be honest, it was a bit scary.

The wives of the family heads, mainly Torako and Kayako, had begun blaming the family heads for what was now happening to Konekomaru. They said that he was unwell because of how much he had been pushed. Forced to take on so much responsibility without any help. He was only a child, yet he had to deal with everything that an adult had to. He never complained, but that only increased their thinking that Konekomaru had only been holding everything in, so as not to trouble anyone else, as he was so apt to try to avoid.

Juzo stopped walking, his grimace turning into a glare. It was all so frustrating. Not because he felt it was his fault, but because he just couldn't do anything about it. The kid was right in front of him, right there, but he couldn't do a thing to help him. Konekomaru didn't seem like he could ask for help, and Juzo didn't know what to look for in order to help him. He felt so useless. He looked at the wall, not knowing why. Possibly hoping his glare would bore a hole through it to show his anger. Pulling his lips from his teeth, he clutched one hand into a fist, using the other to balance the tray. He started pulling back his arm-

"Juzo!" He stopped just when he was about to punch the wall. He looked down to see Bon and his little brother, Renzo, run up to him.

"Hey squirt, what's up?" Renzo didn't seem to hear the name, he seemed to busy.

"Hey Juzo! DO you know where mom is?" Juzo thought for a moment before he answered.

"Um, she should be in the kitchen with Mrs. Suguro. Here," he held out the tray to his little brother, "take this to them. I've got stuff I need to do, so it'd be great if you could do that." Renzo took it and Juzo immediately turned around and went down the hallway. "Thanks Renzo! Just tell her it's Konekomaru's, they'll know what to do with it." With that, he rounded the corner and disappeared. Renzo looked at Bon, shrugged, and they headed for the kitchen.

–

Kayako looked up when Bon and Shima walked in the kitchen. The two of them were carrying a tray with food on it between them, it almost looked comical. But her smile died away when she realized who it was from.

"That's Konekomaru's, I take it?" The boys nodded, causing her to sigh. "I thought so. Here, give it to me. I'm going to store it away for later." She took the tray from the boys' hands and took it to the counter, where she began storing the food away in bowls with lids. Shima followed his mother up to the counter and held onto her kimono as he leaned against her.

"Hey mom, you said that's Konekomaru's right?" His mother grunted, something along the lines of the yes. "What's up with him? He's so weird." Kayako snapped her head and looked down at him, giving him a mother-glare.

"Renzo Shima! How dare you say something like that about Konekomaru!" Renzo backed off, taken aback.

"But mom, it's true," he said plainly. "He's just so weird."

"Yeah," Bon chipped in. "He's always by himself, he's always avoiding us, and he hardly ever goes outside. Now he's just lying around in his room in the dark all day. It is kinda' weird." Kayako was not the most patient woman, or mother, in the world, but she tried her best as she tried to explain it to the boys.

"Look, I'll try to tell you this in a simple way. You both have your parents. Renzo, you have me and your dad, and you have both of your parents, Bon. He doesn't have either of his parents." The boys nodded, this they knew. "Well, because he doesn't have either of his parents, he has to do all the things that adults have to do because there aren't any adults from his family to do them. So he has to learn prayers and take on big chores and be prepared like an adult." After pausing to make sure this soaked in, she went on. "Because he has to do so much, he doesn't have time to go out and play like you two, so he hasn't had much time to really be a kid." Bon crossed his arms, still not seeming convinced.

"Okay. But why does he keep avoiding us, then? Every time we see him he always just looks the other way and walks away from us." Kayako finished packing things into the refrigerator and gave them a meaningful look.

"Well, you've never really made an effort to talk to him, and maybe he doesn't know how to be friends." With that, she left the room, leaving the two boys to look at each other with confused faces.

–

Konekomaru was still in his little futon, curled up in the same little ball. His head rested on the pillow as he lay the blanket over himself so it formed a little hood around his head. His eyes half-gazed at the room, though now he mostly kept them closed. The coolness seemed to stay in the room all the time now. No sun came in through the curtains and his little body didn't produce too much warmth. So, the room remained still and cool.

He didn't mind the silence, he was along most of the time anyways. The only living things he ever really interacted with had been his little creature friends, and, of course, they were all gone now. That was the only thing that depressed him now. Now he really was alone, really had no one else.

Before, he had at least had some... 'things', to talk to about his problems. The humans he knew would already have the same problems, most probably wouldn't really listen. He was able to pour his heart out to these creatures. They would all listen to him. They would cuddle against him to sooth him and would always care if he did or didn't come to see them. On the other hand, Konekomaru wasn't even sure if he would be missed if he just disappeared right now. He would probably just be forgotten, just the useless little kid who spent the rest of his time in the dark.

His stomach clenched around the small amounts of food he had eaten, the hole in his heart opened wider than ever. He hardly felt hungry anymore, now he just ate because he was brought food, but everything sat in a heavy lump in his stomach. He curled up even tighter, a small ball under a blanket in the middle of an empty room. _I just wish I could disappear_, he thought. His back was still to the door, and his eyes were closed, so he didn't see the eyes that peeked through a crack in the door, watching him curiously.


	20. Chapter 16

"So, we all know how this is gonna' work?" Shura asked. The group of students nodded, faces serious. Shima and Bon looked especially solemn, faces stiff. Shura waved for them to follow her and walked back into the classroom. Everything was about how they left it. Yukio still had his gun at the ready for any funny business Gale might try, and Konekomaru was still in the sealing circle.

He was sitting at the part nearest them. His legs were up against his chest and his face was pressed against his knees. Since his glasses were smashed to bits somewhere on one of the school's pathways, when he looked up at them, his eyes looked smaller than they usually seemed to be. They were still glowing a dim red and there seemed to be a dark aura hovering around him. When he spoke to them, while his voice was weak and tired-sounding, it still had that eerie double-voiced sound.

_**So, the pitiful excuses for companions return. What's the matter? You seem tense. Have you, perhaps, begun to feel sorry for the boy?**_ A dark smirk became the dominant expression on Konekomaru's face as the Gale became pleased with the results of its' words on them. Bon and Shima became even more grim-faced, and the Gale took immense pleasure in this. **_Well, it's a bit too late for that now, isn't it?_**

"Don't get distracted you two," Shura said as she put her hands on Bon and Shima's shoulders. "I'll need all of your focus for this." She pulled up three chairs and put them in a small circle. Shura sat down in one, then the two monks-in-training sat in the others. "Ready?" She held out the necklace in one hand. The light hit it and seemed to make it give off a red glow. Bon nodded and took hold of the silver chain, Shima following suit not too long after. Gale seemed amused by this, and it showed on Konekomaru's face.

_**Oh? And what is this you're trying to do? Some kind of exorcism ritual, perhaps? Well I can tell you now that it won't work.**_ Shura ignored it and closed her eyes as she began to chant softly. The words that came from her lips were ancient and soft, sending slight chills down the spines of the other cram school students. Now the gem in the necklace really did begin to glow. A faint red aura surrounded the gem, giving it even more of a mystical feel. Gale caused Konekomaru's gloating face faltered slightly, evil eyes widening just a bit.

"Enjoy yer new body while you got it, punk," Shura said as she smirked. "We'll get the kid back before ya' know it." With one final word in that strange language, the gem flashed a harsh red light for a split second. Then, it shot what could only be described as red lightning at Konekomaru and hit him square in the chest. The sound of the Gale screeching in pain came out of Konekomaru's mouth, then stopped abruptly as he froze, eyes wide and blank. Then he fell over, landing on his side rather unceremoniously, with his good hand lying limply over the cast on his forearm. His eyes were now half-open; the bright red color now dull with all the blackness of his pupils seeming to have disappeared, making his eyes look blank and distant.

Shura and the boys slumped in their chairs, hands still holding the necklace in the middle of them. When the last of the red light died down, the remaining group saw that the gem had turned dull and gray, all traces of the former crimson color vanished. Yukio, who had still been standing there when the ordeal had begun, grabbed a chair from one of the desks and sat in it. The students stood there in slight shock until Rin spoke up.

"So... now what do we do." Yukio glanced at his older brother out of the corner of his eye.

"The only thing we can do now. We wait."

–

Bon swayed slightly on the spot, feeling dizzy from the new experience. Next to him, Shima had his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Shura was the least phased and only shook off her light discombobulation from the travel into Konekomaru's mind.

"Alright you two, quit yer bellyachin'. We're in. Let's get movin'." She started walking towards a faint light, not stopping to wait for the young monks. They both ran to catch up with her, even though they were still stumbling a bit.

"So... this is Konekomaru's mind," Shima said as he looked around. "Wow, it's a lot... darker and emptier than I thought it would be." Shura rolled her eyes without looking at Shima.

"This is only the outer layer dumbass. The mind has many different parts to it, ye' can't just make yerself go wherever ye' want. If ye' wanna' get somewhere in the mind, ye' gotta' travel there." Her voice turned serious, her eyes narrowing as she walked. "Now listen to me and listen to me good. Gales are tricky demons to deal with. Ye' never know what to expect with them. Now we're in here, that Gale is gonna' do everything in it's power to keep us from getting' to Miwa. It will use illusions, tricks, it might even pull up old memories that may have been painful for yer' friend. But the most important thing to remember is that ye' can't listen to anything it says. Got it?" Bon nodded, but Shima looked a little nervous.

"Um, guys, is it just me, or are the walls changing?" Shura glanced at the darkness, which were indeed changing. Colors began to swirl on the formerly onyx surfaces, forming different shapes and shades. Finally one seemed to finish it's process, and it became something that could only be compared to a video without sound. It showed Konekomaru sitting in his little cave from the latest forest training (though Bon and Shima didn't know it), trembling and covering his ears as lightning flashed outside. On his shoulder, they could see the shadowy shape of the Gale as it perched on his shoulder with its' little claws.

"What is this?" Bon had stopped and was watching the moving images. He could see Konekomaru talking, then flinch as he covered his ears again. Shura halted and put her hands on her hips as she glanced at the wall as well.

"I told you not to get distracted. The Gale is trying to distract you with Miwa's memories. The longer we wait, the more power it'll get from him each minute. Come on, we've gotta' keep moving." Bon and Shima reluctantly started following her again, though they still glanced at the images on the walls. "I've read things about these kinds of demons before. They've got three different layers of ways to control their hosts. First they use old, pain filled memories to remind their host of bad things that may have happened in their past, so they can use real-life examples of horrible things. Second, they'll use memories of old dreams, to keep them seeing what they fear could happen and promise to prevent those things. Finally, they'll use a sort of fantasy."

"Fantasy?" Shima asked. He was so distracted by wanting his own question answered that he didn't see the memory of Konekomaru getting hurt by Amaimon during the forest training. Shura nodded, always walking and keeping her sight in front of her.

"That's right. Sometimes, if a fear demon wants to really latch on to it's host, then it'll create a good illusion to show them. In other words, it sedates them with promises of good things and keeps them from seeing what's really going on." She halted, looking around as she held out her arm to stop the boys following her. Her eyes flitted back and forth suspiciously as she examined the surrounding area. The walls seemed to be disappearing, causing the colors to drip and mix until there was nothing but messy puddles of colors where the walls once were. Shura brought her hand over her chest and whispered to herself. "_Devour the seven princesses, slay the serpent._" She pulled her sword from her tattooed symbol and held it tightly in her hand.

"What's wrong Miss Kirigakure?" Bon asked. Shura sniffed and narrowed her eyes.

"Get yer' weapons or whatever ye've got ready. We're about to enter the dream zone." Nodding for them to follow her, she moved forward again, sword at the ready. Shima pulled his staff out of his jacket pocket as Bon readied his prayer beads. It was dark at first, but then they saw shapes up ahead. Shura motioned for them to follow closely behind, then ran quietly forward. Bon and Shima were forced to run as fast as they could to keep up, and found themselves walking in some kind of trench. "We're gonna' have to hide as we go through hear. Unlike the memories, the Gale can manipulate the dreams, so it could use them to try and push us back out. C'mon."

Since they were in the trench, they couldn't see much, but they heard plenty. They could hear the sounds of crackling fire and things breaking. It was too loud to hear very much once they got far enough in, but over the noise they could sometimes hear other sounds. Those sounds they recognized as Konekomaru. They heard him crying, begging, screaming, and making so many other heartbreaking sounds that Bon could feel his heart breaking with each one.

Finally, the sounds seemed to die down and the world around them became silent again. Shura poked her head out of the trench and looked around cautiously.

"It's safe, the coast is clear." She put her hands on the edge and huffed as she pulled herself out of the trench onto her knees. She was standing by the time the boys pulled themselves out.

"I can't believe the Gale was forcing Konekomaru to see and hear all that," Bon said as he pulled himself to his feet. I couldn't see any of it, but I heard enough to know that it must have been horrible." Shura nodded, looking ahead.

"Well, it shouldn't be too much further now, c'mon." She started forward again, Bon and Shima following not far behind. It was all dark again, though they could see each other quite plainly. Then, up ahead, Bon thought he saw a spark of light. He squinted, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but the light only seemed to get nearer and bigger.

"Um, does anyone else see that light up ahead?" Shima asked. Shura nodded, clutching her sword tightly.

"Yup. Get ready you two, I've got an eerie feeling." They finally reached the light and walked into it. They blinked, getting used to the light after being in the darkness for so long. Bon let out a small gasp as he looked around.

"What is all this?"


	21. Chapter 17

Bon couldn't believe his eyes, no way this could have been created by a fear demon. The whole place was a gigantic field. The grass was tall, green, and sweet-smelling, dotted with flowers that were splashed randomly about, like paint splatters on a giant green canvas. Just off of the field's center, a small stream flowed with crystal clear water over clean, gray stones. A cool, dark forest grew on the outskirts of the field, creating a large patch of shade that looked as if it would be perfect to nap in on a hot summer's day. Above them, the sun shone down with a pleasant heat that was neither too hot nor too cold. And to top off the strange view around them, there were cats everywhere. They were of all shapes and sizes and colors, each of them doing the things a cat would do in this virtual paradise.

"What the hell?" Bon heard Shima whisper aloud.

"Hmph, so the Gale really did wanna' latch onto him," Shura quipped. "This is the last stage, the fantasy. Miwa must have a lot of fear or something that it's drawn to, because this is pure textbook last-stage fear demon possession." Her eyes were narrowed as she examined the field. She paused, turning her head as if she had heard something. Turning his head, Bon heard it too. It almost sounded like... laughter. It was the laughter of a small child, the innocent laughter of a child without any sort of care in the world. Shura let out a small breath and started walking.

"Follow me." The two boys did indeed follow her, though they were still taken aback by the scene around them. Shima tripped over something in the grass and fell forward, making a perfect face-plant in the ground.

"Owch..." he moaned as he got back to his feet. "What did I just trip over?" He looked, then gave a start. It was a cat: a small, white kitten with wide blue eyes. It 'mrawr'ed at him and scampered off, disappearing in the tall grass. "A cat? What's cat doing here?" Shura resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Ugh, have you not been listening to me? We're in a fantasy created by the Gale. It knows by now whatever makes Miwa the happiest, and it's using those things to control him. That's how these creatures work. They find what makes you tick, then they play with you like a puppet on its' strings." Bon grimaced. He had never been possessed before, and neither had Shima. They had no idea what their friend must have been going through. Having his mind twisted like a piece of dough and having to watch as his body was manipulated by his demonic puppeteer.

Suddenly, Shura stopped and motioned for the boys to do the same. She squinted and shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand.

"What is it?" Shima asked curiously. Shura didn't answer, only pointed to something a little ways away. Bon and Shima peered around her, and they thought that they could see the faint outlines of a few people. They followed Shura slowly, creeping up. The sound of the laughter grew less faint and more defined as they drew closer. And, for some reason, it sounded oddly familiar. They finally reached a point where they could see the people clearly, and Bon and Shima saw all too well why.

Konekomaru was there, only, he was five years old. He appeared similar to his current age, though shorter and without glasses. Though, that wasn't the only thing that appeared different about him. His eyes were shining with clarity and sharpness that they had only seen when he had his glasses on. His face was turned upwards in a smile that the two boys had seen rarely at best. This smile was wide, happy, without worry or care. He giggled as he picked up one of the cats, then held it close to him and let it cuddle up to his chest.

"Koneko, sweetie, don't wander off too far." Konekomaru smiled, then released the cat and ran to the two people who were sitting there in the grass. One was a woman and the other a man. The woman was smiling warmly, her night-black hair framing her delicate smile as bright, hazel-red eyes looked at him with care. Next to her, a man with a closely-shaved head and a softer, slightly more reserved, smile, held her hand and beckoned to the child-Konekomaru as well. Shima shocked himself when he realized that he recognized these people, and he was sure that Bon recognized them as well. They had only seen these two on a few instances, when they saw them in the only picture Konekomaru had in his room.

_Konekomaru's parents_, he thought dumbly. Indeed, these two were the spitting image of the two in the picture, and they seemed as though they were everything that the temple adults had said they would be. Still, something seemed... wrong. There was something behind those warm, loving smiles that sent a shiver of unease up his spine. Something sinister, something dark. However, Konekomaru didn't seem to sense these unsettling auras around these people who looked so much like his parents. He ran straight into the arms of his 'mother', snuggling into her chest as her arms closed around him in a hug. Shura stood up straight, looking at the Miwa 'family'.

"Come on you two. We're doin' no good just hiding in the shadows. Now we've gotta' go straight for it. Just one more layer until we reach the core of his mind, where we'll find the Gale. C'mon, all we've gotta' do is break through the fantasy and we'll be home free." Shura stepped out of hiding and, without waiting for the boys to catch up, want straight for the group. Bon and Shima ran to catch up with her, as she took long, steady strides, sword clasped in hand. The adults looked up at her, causing Konekomaru to turn as well. He began shaking a bit when he saw her, clutching his 'mother's' kimono in his small hands.

"Mother, who are they?" His voice was tiny and shaky as he was, he looked at them with wide, frightened eyes. His 'mother' held him to herself as his 'father' patted his head.

"It's okay, I'll get rid of them." He stood and went to them, stopping right in front of Shura. He stared at her, daring her to make another move. "I must ask you to leave. You are not welcome here." Shura said nothing. There was a flash of silver, a quiet sound of metal in the air, and the man before her had disappeared. There was no blood, and he didn't lay on the ground. He was just gone. Konekomaru gasped and curled into a ball, allowing the woman who looked like his mother to hold him tighter. Shura showed no care, even when Shima and Bon looked at her in shock.

"What did you have to do that for?" Shima shouted. Shura glared back at him over her shoulder, making a 'hmph' noise.

"Have you been listening to _anything_ I've been saying, kid? Everything here is an illusion, nothing is real in the slightest." She turned her glare forward again, a smirk beginning to play on her lips. "Ain't that right ya' damn demon?" A dark chuckle sounded in the air, permeating the atmosphere with something that was almost a dark mist.

_**Very knowledgeable, aren't we, exorcist? Though, in the end, it doesn't matter. You may have been able to break through my other shields, but you will never get him back. He is too far gone. Why don't you simply give up now? I can leave, take him with me, and you will never have to see or think about him again. Isn't that what you do anyways?**_ Bon clenched his fists, wanting to be able to hit the demon that was mocking them. He jerked when he saw the child version of his friend. He was still curled up, eyes closed, but the person holding him no longer looked like his mother. It didn't even look like a person. It was like he was wrapped in the wings of some gigantic raven or crow, Gale.

_**You amuse me. You continue to try, though there is no hope. He belongs to me now, simply accept that.**_ The bird-demon froze, making a slight gagging sound as it shuddered. While it had been speaking to Bon and Shima, trying to break their spirits, Shura had taken the chance and ran it through with her sword. The Gale released an angry kind of bird-shriek, and their surroundings shattered. The colors dropped and scattered, the scene becoming nothing but blackness, as it had all started out. Bon and Shima looked around, shocked.

"What is this?" Shura narrowed her eyes as she wiped the blood off of her blade with her fingers.

"The core of Miwa's mind. We've gotta' hurry. I weakened the Gale when I stabbed it, though I didn't kill it. It could eject us at any minute, so we've got no time to waste." Bon and Shima looked around, searching for a hint that could lead them to their friend in this darkness.

"Well, so nice to see the two of you here." The two boys froze, recognizing their friend's voice. They looked, and were surprised to see him when he hadn't been there before. His eyes were half-closed, but when he opened them, they saw such a mix of emotions that they couldn't even name them all. "You're not welcome here," he spat. Near his head, a pair of red eyes appeared, a shadowy body showing slightly, even in the darkness. "Now get out."


	22. Chapter 18

"Didn't you hear me? I said to get out of here. **Now.**" Konekomaru glared at his two friends, contempt and anger filling his eyes. No matter how hard Bon and Shima looked, they realized that nothing from their friend's usual optimistic, wide-eyed spark was present. "What? Still don't get it. Come on Bon, you're a genius aren't you? Can't you figure out what I'm saying? You too Shima, even someone as brain-dead as you can figure out what I'm telling you both." He spat their names with hatred, as if they were filthy swear words instead of the names of the two who had been his best friends for years.

Konekomaru appeared to be sitting, though a bit above the ground, almost as if he was in a chair. His head was still leaning a bit towards his chest, though he was still able to glare at them with his demon-red eyes.. But the strangest thing about his appearance was that his body was criss-crossed by some sort of dark rope-like material. His face was filled with all the hatred that was in his eyes, but, to his friends, he only looked broken.

"Koneko..." Shima tried to take a step towards his friend, but cried out in shock as he was forced back by a blade coming out of nowhere directly in front of him. He looked over at Bon, trying to read his face and see what he was thinking. He was shocked when he saw that Bon's face was full of anger. Not hatred like Konekomaru's, but anger that he knew only came about when he thought someone was being an idiot.

"I can't believe you," Bon whispered. Konekomaru must have heard this, as he turned his head slightly to look at him.

"You can't believe what? Why are you so angry? Because I can break away from you two and stand on my own like this?" Konekomaru narrowed his eyes. "I'm not some weak puppy who will follow you around for all of my life. You ignored me and left me alone so many times. I'm not going to just sit there and let my heart be crushed by you two over and over again!" As he spoke, his voice grew louder and louder until he was almost shouting at them. Another rope seemed to form, curling around his chest and binding him tighter. "I'm not going to let you rule my life and-!"

"That's not why I'm angry!" Konekomaru stopped in mid-sentence at Bon's outburst. His eyes widened with surprise at first, then narrowed once again as he tried to understand.

"What-?"

"Listen to me, Konekomaru," Bon hissed, anger seething in his voice. "I know you must be angry with us right now. I admit, we could have been better friends, but you can't go blaming us for all of this. Like I said, I'm not angry because you're trying to 'break away from us' like you said. I'm pissed because you're letting that **thing** tell you what you should be feeling!" Konekomaru's face softened a fraction, he was looking at Bon as if he was really listening to what he was saying. "Konekomaru, I know you try not to tell anyone what's wrong with you, but you're not helping anyone. Every time you keep something bottled up like that, you're only hurting yourself!"

"Shut up! You have no idea what kind of pain I feel every day!" Konekomaru's face had hardened again, anger more pronounced than ever. "You, both of you, you play like you're my friends, but all you ever do, all you've ever done is hurt me! You don't know me, so don't you go telling me who is hurting me!" His breathing became heavier, like that of an enraged animal. Over his shoulder, the Gale's eyes still stared with their piercing red gaze. Shima, who had been silent this whole time, sighed and shrugged, eyes closed.

"I guess you're right, we don't know what it's like. I wouldn't unless I was you. But Koneko... are you really just going to listen to that thing?" He jabbed his staff at the Gale. The bird demon narrowed its' eyes at him. "If you hate us, then that's fine. But why the hell would you listen to a demon? How do you think your parents would feel about that if they were here?" Konekomaru stared at him with wide eyes, then lowered his head.

"My parents, huh?... Yes, I see now, that's all this is about." Bon and Shima were both thoroughly confused now. "The Miwa family, the Miwa honor, the Miwa pride. That's that matters, that's all that anyone ever cared about. No one ever bothered to ask about the child they forced into adulthood just for their own selfishness. No one ever cared about Konekomaru, it was all about my family. Well what good is a family if they're not there to care about you? I hate it! I hate you for leaving me! I hate the monks for forcing me to become something I wasn't ready for! I hate my parents for dying and leaving their son all alone in the world! **I hate all of you!**" The bindings seemed to become thicker, encircling his arms, legs, chest, and even a couple that curled around his neck.

"Look at yourself Konekomaru!" Bon shouted. "Look at what you're hate is making you! We could have helped you if you had just let it go and let us help you!"

"**I DON'T CARE! **I just want you to get out of here and **leave me alone!**" The Gale's laughter became heard once more, this time sounding louder than it had the last time.

"Don't you see yet? He is mine now. He does not care about you anymore. He wants you gone. After all, you can't do anything for him. You can't even tell when he is afraid. I am all that he needs, not useless children like you. Without me, he is just a scared child huddling in the dark."

"In the dark..." A strange tone took over Konekomaru's voice as he repeated this quietly. The Gale jerked at it turned back on Konekomaru. The boy's eyes were far away, looking at something that happened years ago. "Alone in the dark... Bon... Shima?" He looked at them, eyes wide with some unidentifiable emotion, though it was an obvious and drastic change from his malice-filled features. "You guys..."

"_**NO!**_" Something shot out of the darkness, aiming directly towards the two boys.

"Heads up!" Shura leaped between the boys and the danger, deflecting it easily with her sword. Though it was rather easy to deflect them, they started increasing in number. Soon even Bon and Shima were forced to help fight them off as their teacher became overwhelmed. Shima hit one away with his staff, then grunted with pain as one of the dark shapes hit his arm, drawing blood to the surface with a cut that it created upon contact with the skin.

"Stop it!" Konekomaru shouted. "Stop! I don't want you to-" his sentence was cut off and replaced with a gagging cough as the bindings around him tightened, constricting him even more, forcing him to close his eyes as he tried to breathe.

_**Silence boy! You dare to try and defy me? I have given you power, the ability to free yourself from their bindings around your heart! And now you try to leave and go back to them after all I have done to help you?**_ Konekomaru could feel the dark presence around him intensify as he felt the Gale's claws dig into his shoulder, causing him to yelp in pain. **_If you go back to them now they will only shun you and call you weak once more! Is that what you truly want?_** Konekomaru closed his eyes as he tried to block out the words attacking his heart, still breathing laboriously because of the ever-tightening bonds that the Gale created. He felt one suddenly loosening and his eyes snapped open. He was met with the sight of Shura next to him, sword off to one side as if she had just swung it.

"Claws off, birdy. Ain't no one gonna' hurt a student on my watch." An agitated growling sound escaped the demon as more objects were hurled at the red-haired teacher. She stopped them and caught one, briefly holding it in between her fingers. It was a familiar shape, easily recognizable as one of Gale's feather daggers. She was forced to throw it away quickly in order to deflect more of them as they flew at her. "Listen kid, I don't know you all that well, but snap the hell outta' it!" She turned a quick backflip in order to escape the projectiles that were being aimed at her. "Yer stronger than this! Anyone with eyes can see! So don't let this freakin' demon control ya'!"

Konekomaru stared down at the ground, a mixture of conflicting emotions etched into his features. He lifted up one hand that had been freed by Shura.

"...Bon...Shima..." He looked at his closest friend, which happened to be Bon. He shakily held out his hand to his friend. Bon saw this and tried to reach for it, as if to literally pull him away from the Gale's influence. He saw the look on his small friend's face, open and pleading for help. Their fingertips were only inches apart, but just before they touched, a flash of light and a loud sound like drums trying to split the sky.

Konekomaru's hand shot back towards his body like a bullet and went right to his head, covering one ear while the other hand did likewise. His body instinctively curled up as his knees came up to his chest and his head bowed over his knees. His eyes squeezed shut as another flash of lightning and boom of thunder made themselves into the environment. The binding re-formed, making themselves thicker and tighter, in an almost desperate hold to keep him from escaping a second time. The Gale's seething anger could be felt in the atmosphere as if it was a thick fog.

_**That is enough! I will not tolerate you pests any longer!**_ The world seemed to collapse around them, the darkness giving way to a swirling vortex of mixing light and darkness. Shima was the first to get sucked in, tumbling head-first into the center and disappearing. Shura stuck her sword into the surface below her in an attempt to keep from going in as well, but the ground came out in a chunk and she too went flying out.

_He's afraid of thunderstorms?_ That thought was the last that Bon had, because in the next few seconds, he too could feel himself being pulled into the vortex. Then his vision went white, before slowly fading to black.


	23. Chapter 19

Bon jerked, feeling as if he had just fallen from a great height and hit the ground. He took in a quick gasp of air, feeling himself reconnect with his body. He jerked his hand away from the necklace, which he had been holding limply up until that point. Yukio rushed over to them, a slightly panicked look on his face.

"What happened?! Where is the Gale?!" Shura looked past him, drawing her sword as fast as she could.

"Yukio! The seal!" A loud boom sounded, making the ground shake and knocked the students off of their feet, or their chairs, in Bon and Shima's cases. All heads jerked to where the seal was placed, knowing it as the source.

Inside, it seemed as if shadows were gathering and swirling within the circle, making it darker and harder to see what was inside. Then, a pair of glowing red eyed flashed from within, piercing the darkness. The Gale said nothing, but a sound like something throwing itself against glass broke the stunned silence. A group of cracking lines seemed to hang in midair, just above the edge of the sealing circle. Shura swore aloud as she and Yukio ran towards the breaking circle. Another smashing noise sounded, followed by the sound of something crackling apart.

"All of you, get back! Get back!" Yukio shouted. With one more hit, it was like the glass had finally shattered, and a swirling hurricane of shadows and wind burst out from within the circle. The ground around it was cracked as well, like something had hit it with great force, the chalk circle broken and cracked into so many pieces.

_**That does it! I do not care what it costs me, I will destroy each and every one of you!**_ The Gale's voice came out in a roar, it didn't even bother to try and break them using Konekomaru's voice. It was now thoroughly enraged, and it had only one goal: kill. With a murderous screech like a raven, it dove towards them, claws extended and prepared to slash anything they met.

"Brother! Your flames! Use them now!" Yukio shouted. Rin, who had drawn his sword in a half-panic when the Gale had escaped its' confinement, nodded and released a blast of his blue flames, sending the bird demon flying out the window. The glass shattered like the containment circle had, and the demon was sent flying out into the night. Yukio looked back at the exwires for a brief moment as Shura raced forward and jumped out the window to make sure the Gale didn't escape. "All of you, stay in here! I don't want any of you following us out!" With that, Yukio followed suit with Shura and jumped out the window as well, landing in the bushes below before quickly pulling himself to his feet and running after the Gale.

The now-griffin-like demon stood on its' two hind legs, glaring with pure malice at Shura. It raised its' arm, the one that still had Konekomaru's cast on it, and tore it off, letting the pieces fall around its' feet.

_**We end this now!**_ It growled. Shura didn't respond with even a snarky comment, she only drew blood from her thumb and spread it over the blade of her sword, giving it a sharper, more demonic edge.

"Yeah. For you." She rushed forward, swinging the weapon with lethal force. Yukio followed up, shooting two simultaneous bullets at it. The Gale dodged the swipe of Shura's sword, but it wasn't fast enough to dodge Yukio's attack. The bullets hit it dead center in its' wing, causing it to shriek out in pain. Mixed in with its' demonic sound, a smaller voice could barely be heard. Konekomaru, still tied to the demon with its' shadowy bindings, could feel the pain of the bullets as they made contact. Under the shadow of the Gale's beak, Konekomaru's eyes were closed, a slight whimpering sound escaping his mouth as he felt the Gale's wound healing itself.

"Stop! You're hurting him!" Shura looked behind her and glared when she saw Bon and Shima running towards them.

"Hey! What part of 'stay inside' did you not understand?! I wasn't joking kids, now get back in there!" Bon and Shima only continued running until they halted next to the teachers. "I mean it! We can't defend the two of you and fight the Gale at the same time! You'll only get in the way if you stay out here, so get back in the building now!"

"That's our friend you're talking about, we're not just going to leave him!" Bon snapped back. Shura was about to respond, but she instead jumped up to slash away the feathers that the Gale had thrown at them in attack.

"You listen to me! I get that you're his friend and you care about him!" She stopped and grunted as she deflected another attack. "But the fact is that you can't do anything to help here! You'll only get in the way! So get out of here now and let us do what needs to be done!" Shima and Bon wouldn't relent, they showed no signs of being about to follow her orders.

"What exactly are you going to do?" Shima asked. Clearly angry at their not listening to her, Shura answered bluntly.

"Our jobs. As exorcists, it's our duty to get rid of that demon no matter what. And that means that we have to destroy that Gale, no matter what we have to do to do it." Upon hearing this, it flared Bon's anger even more, rather than placating him.

"So you'd be willing to kill Konekomaru to do it too?! Is that what you're saying?!" Shura growled under her breath, gripping her sword in one hand.

"I never said that. Look, I don't have time to deal with you brats! Just get back inside and let us do this!" With that, she rushed forward, eyes narrowed with intent to kill. The Gale attempted to blow her back with another wind gust, but it was too slow. Shura got in by its' side and slashed its' shoulder, drawing a cry of pain from both it and Konekomaru. The Gale growled loudly, anger clear in its' crimson eyes.

It glanced over to where Bon and Shima stood, and an evil look came into its' eyes. With a dark laugh, it angled its' wings and zoomed down closer to the ground, aimed directly at the two of them.

_**You're mine!**_ Bon and Shima's heads shot up when they heard its' triumphant screech. Thinking quickly, Shima brought his staff up to defend them, but the griffin-like demon only knocked it out of his hand with a single swipe of its' claws. It landed lightly in front of them, but its' claws were raised menacingly, glinting in the light of the moon. **_Now I shall make you no more!_** It brought its' claws down to slice them into pieces, but suddenly, they stopped, tips only an inch away from their heads. It seemed to be grunting, as if with a great effort.** _Wh-what... What do you think you are doing boy?!_** Above them, through the dim light that leaked around the Gale's beak, they could see a hesitant look on their friends' face.

_No... I... I don't want to kill them._ Slowly, shakily, the clawed hand began lowering away from the two, and Konekomaru began to feel his head clearing for the first time in a couple of weeks. As if the black mist that had been clouding his thoughts was finally lifting. _I can't kill my friends. I do hate them, I do. But...but they- _His thoughts cut off with a sharp cry of pain that escaped his mouth. The Gale, feeling its' control beginning to slip, turned its' claws on itself and stabbed itself in the arm. It withdrew the claws, black demon blood and red human blood flowing out and mixing as they dripped to the ground.

_**Silence boy! I have given you power, the ability to get revenge on the ones who caused you pain. And now you try to defy me?! **_Konekomaru could feel the mist setting in again, growing thicker and darker. This, combined with the pain in his arm, caused him to retract, to close up and shield himself from the world around him.

"Suguro! Shima!" He heard the sound of Yukio yelling, and felt another pain as the bullets hit the Gale's wing. "The Gale is starting to lose power, it's growing desperate! You can try to reach him, but do it quickly!" The Gale staggered back from the two boys, wing folded in.

_**Damn you!** _It shrieked. _**The boy is mine! I shall kill all of you!**_ It tried to swipe at Bon and Shima again, but it's claws changed course at the last minute and missed them by mere inches. **_Damn boy! You still try to defy me! I control you! You are mine! I have given you power! Obey me!_** Konekomaru could feel the Gale's voice roaring in his head as it spoke out loud. He could still feel the pain in his arm as it closed up from the Gale's claws. He could almost see the dark mist settling in his mind once again.

"Don't listen to it Konekomaru!" Through the darkness clouding his mind, he could hear Bon's voice yelling at him. Though he could barely see, since his glasses were still smashed somewhere on the other side of the school, he opened his eyes. He could barely make out the blurry outlines of his friends below him. "You don't belong to that thing! You can still fight against it! That thing has just been controlling you and using you! So why the hell would you have even begun to listen to that thing in the first place?!"

_**He lies!**_ The Gale roared.** _They have not been there for you as I have! You were always alone and powerless before I came about! They would abandon you and leave you for dead if it would save them! They know nothing about the pain you feel! They care nothing about you!_** Konekomaru could feel his temples pounding. He was being told two completely different sides of one story, he couldn't tell which was true or false. The darkness still settled around his mind grew thicker, only adding to his weighted mind.

"You know, I guess that thing is right." Konekomaru was shocked when he heard Shima say this. He focused on the pink blur that was his friend's hair. "Maybe we haven't been there for you as much as we should have. I mean, even an idiot like me knows that I could never imagine what kinds of things you must have felt or what you were scared of. But, Koneko... how could we have known if you never told us?" Konekomaru struggled to grasp what his friend was saying, but he could feel a bit of the mist enshrouding his thoughts begin to lift. "I know you've never liked to bother anyone about how you were feeling. But hey, friends listen to each other. And we are your friends, aren't we?" Konekomaru felt like a lightbulb had clicked in his head, clearing the darkness hanging there.

_...What am I doing?_ He thought. His head hung down against his chest, he could feel himself becoming suddenly tired and limp. _Shima...Shima is right. I can't do this all by myself. I've tried, but now...now I see that I've just been fooling myself for so long. Why was I doing this? I...I feel so tired._ He didn't know it, but as he was thinking, he was beginning to slip away from the Gale's grasp. However, the Gale knew this all too well.

_**NO! **_Konekomaru could feel the grip of the Gale tightening painfully around him._ **You are mine, you hear me?! I shall never release you!**_ The Gale's wings began to flap, and it lifted itself into the air. Konekomaru could hear his name being called, but he could do nothing to stop it from happening. He was powerless.

"Brother! Now!" Konekomaru heard Yukio calling out to someone, and a flash of blue overtook his vision. He could hear the shrieking of the Gale, and felt a horrible, hot sensation around him. As if he was on fire. Suddenly, though, it all disappeared, and he felt the cool night air as he began to fall.

He heard someone call out his name, but whoever it was was too late. He hit the ground hard and painfully. He managed to whisper out his friend's names as his vision turned white, but then said nothing more as it all went black.


	24. Chapter 20

Okay, first off. I am SO sorry it took so long to update this. I was in a major block for this. I wanted to make it fast, but not too sappy and cliched. Then I got stuff for other stories and summer things I had to do. Now school has started back up. But, I finally managed to finish this. Now, read this carefully, I will underline it so no one will miss it: this is not the end of the entire story. The main plot will be ended from here, but the Bonus Story material will continue, and the story as a whole will end once the Bonus Story has come to an end. Please continue to read after this chapter, because there will be more writing. Okay, that is all I needed to say. Once more, I'm so sorry!

–

Bon and Shima watched silently as Yukio slid a needle into Konekomaru's arm, then slowly pushed the plunger in to inject its' contents into his blood. After the Gale's defeat, their young friend had, once again, been admitted to the True Cross Infirmary to recover. Yukio stood up and offered a comforting smile to the other two monks-in-training as he wiped off the needle.

"You two shouldn't look so grim," he said. "The worst injuries he sustained were a few minor burns from my brother's flames, but we've applied some holy water and aloe patches, so those should be healed in no time." He held up the empty syringe for them to see. "This is only a precaution. The demon's blood could make him become ill if it got into his system, so this is only a way to flush it out, if there is any." He packed away his medical tools into his compartments, then stood to speak to them again. "You two can stay here as long as you'd like, but I would suggest getting some rest. You two have had quite an ordeal yourselves, I'd assume you're pretty tired. I'm sorry to leave so suddenly, but I must go and discuss this whole matter with Sir Pheles and Miss Kirigakure. Now, if you'll excuse me." With that, he opened the door and left, closing it softly behind him. After he left there was silence. Bon and Shima were only staring at Konekomaru, watching his silent form as they remembered another time when he was like this, a long time ago.

"Why don't you hate me?" Both of them nearly jumped when they heard Konekomaru's voice. They thought he was still unconscious, but now they could see him, barely shifting under his sheets. However, they weren't surprised by this fact, more by what he had said.

"Do you want us to hate you?" Bon responded. Konekomaru didn't respond, but bunched up the sheets around his face in response, looking towards the blank wall.

"What would you ask us a question like that for, Koneko?" Shima asked, a forced smile on his face. Like he always did, he was trying to make the situation less serious to ease up the mounting tension in the room. "That's pretty random, don't you think?" When he only received silence for an answer, he went on. "I mean, we're just glad you're alright, I mean, I was seriously worried for a moment there. If there's one thing I had to say about it, I would say-"

"Don't give me that, Shima!" The pinkette snapped his mouth shut, lips pressing together. "Why are you two still being so nice to me? I almost killed you. You should hate me right now." The two monks-in-training stared at their friend with confusion and a bit of hurt. They heard the smaller sigh and rustle the covers as he pulled them around him even more. The room was silent for a moment, until Konekomaru broke the silence once more. "I wish... I wish I could just quit the cram school," he whispered. Bon grunted, his face beginning to form into a scowl. "Who knows, they might just kick me out, what with what happened and all. They wouldn't want someone in the school who could turn against his team at the drop of a hat, would they? They wouldn't want someone as useless as me-"

"Don't talk like that, Konekomaru!" Bon shot forward and threw the covers off, startling both Shima and Konekomaru. With a growl, he grabbed Konekomaru by the collar of his night-shirt and shook him hard. "You listen to me and listen to me good! What happened was NOT your fault! You were being controlled, end of story. It was all that demon's trouble, not you!"

"Bon! Calm down!" Shima exclaimed. Konekomaru avoided Bon's eyes, his reddish-hazel eyes looked so small without his glasses as he looked off to the side.

"Don't you look away from me! Look at me! LOOK AT ME NOW!" Bon lifted Konekomaru higher into the air so the younger monk was dangling about an inch off the top of the bed. "You will NOT blame yourself for this! If you even think about doing that I'll-!"

"Bon! Stop it! That's enough!" Shima yelled, eyes wide with worry for Konekomaru and a bit of fear at Bon. Bon narrowed his eyes, then slowly lowered Konekomaru back down and set him back on top of the sheets before releasing the fabric he was gripping. Konekomaru continued to look away from his friends, even as he fixed his shirt. A certain look on his face, though, re-sparked the still-present anger in Bon's veins.

"Are you... _smiling_ right now?" Konekomaru stayed silent, but what Bon said was true. Present on Konekomaru's face was, though slight, a sad smile that was etched on his lips. But, while his mouth was smiling, his eyes were half-closed and filled with sorrow. "Tell me, are you happy that I'm angry at you right now? Do you want me to yell at you? Because believe me, I am plenty pissed and I could yell at you right now, but... I'm not going to." He let out a sigh and lowered his shoulders. Konekomaru looked at him strangely, an expression that seemed a bit confused, but also a bit angry.

"...So that's it? You're not going to say anything else?" Bon shrugged as he ran a hand through his hair.

"What else is there to say? We're okay, the demon's gone, it's all ov-"

"It's not all over." Konekomaru's voice had an edge to it, you could see him gripping the sheets in his hands. "Don't you get it? I'm dangerous. I let a demon take control of me and I couldn't do anything to stop it. What if it happened again, and what if it couldn't be stopped. I could have killed you both!" His face was tight, his eyes narrowed. "You guys shouldn't be so nice to me right now, not after what I nearly did!" his voice slowly became louder and more frantic. "And all those things I said to you, when it was controlling me, all of it was true, what I really thought! I meant every word of it, but I never said them out loud until then! Why don't you hate me right now!? Why-?!" He cut off suddenly, gasping and grabbing at his chest. Shima rushed forward and took Konekomaru by the shoulders, slowly pushing him so he was lying down on his bed.

"Hey! Easy buddy! You're still recovering, you shouldn't get yourself so excited like this!" Konekomaru said nothing, but his face was a grimace. He didn't move, though, when Shima lay him back down and covered him with his blanket. "Listen, we'll talk about this, alright? But when you're better." Konekomaru stopped answering, he now just allowed himself to turn on his side and curl up under the blanket. His back was to Bon and Shima, so they couldn't see his face again. Bon sighed and turned towards the door.

"Come on Shima, we've got stuff we've gotta' do. Let's go for now." He started when he heard a muffled noise coming from over where Konekomaru was lying. He turned a bit and glanced at his smaller friend. Konekomaru was pressing the side of his face into the pillow, and the blanket was bunched up underneath as if someone was gripping it tightly. In a second, though, he seemed to release it and let out a silent breath.

"Okay then, I'll see you guys." His voice sounded so desolate and sorrowful. It made Bon think of not so many hours ago when they were inside his mind. One thing the Gale had said to them.

_**'He lies!**_ _The Gale roared._ _**They have not been there for you as I have! You were always alone and powerless before I came about!'**_

And then, thinking about the time leading up to all of these events, he found realization.

"I get it now," he said. Konekomaru moved his head a bit, as if trying to see his face and know what he was talking about. Shima, however, only looked confused.

"You get what, Bon?" Bon glanced over at Konekomaru quietly and stated simply,

"That you're afraid of being alone." Konekomaru's eyes widened, though his friends couldn't see it. "I understand it now, which fear the Gale used to control you. Sure, you were afraid of Rin being the son of Satan, but I see now that, really, your biggest fear was of being left alone. That we'll leave you behind... Isn't that right?" Konekomaru stayed silent, but the two of them could see him trembling slightly under the blanket. "You don't have to be alone anymore. Konekomaru... if you really see us as your friends, then we want you to tell us when something is wrong. That's what friends are for, aren't they?" Shima nodded.

"Right. I think it's way too troublesome, but if it's for one of my best friends, I think I can put up with it." Finally, Konekomaru sat up slowly, shakily. He looked at both of them; first Bon, then Shima.

"Bon... Shima... You guys... I... I don't..." He started a bit when he felt something on his face. He wiped his finger across his cheek and found himself touching hot, wet tears. He stared at the blurry sight of his wet hand, but his vision grew blurred to a mass of mixing colors as his eyes filled with more tears. They dripped out of his eyes and down his face, gathering at the tip of his chin where they fell onto the blankets. He tried to wipe them off, but they just kept on coming. "I don't understand. Why... Why am I crying?"

He heard a movement from off to his side, and in another second he felt something large and warm press against him and pull him close. That something was Bon. From the other side, he could feel Shima mimicking the action, so he was being hugged by his two best friends. As if a dam burst, all the sadness and pain just came flooding out. He broke down and let himself silently cry. His body shook with silent, breathy sobs as he leaned into the embraces of his two best friends. Even through his crying, he found one thought entering his head.

_This is the first time I've eve let my friends see me crying._


	25. Bonus Chapter 5

Kayako Shima bit her lip as she spooned rice out of the pots and into bowls for dinner. By the time she got to the last bowl in the row and placed it on a small tray, she felt like her lip might split if she chewed it any more.

Konekomaru had stopped eating.

While the small boy was known for eating very little normally, he had been eating less and less as time went on while he was cooped up in his room from his unknown illness. Now, in the last couple of days, he had stopped taking food altogether. Juzo hadn't noticed this when he had brought the boy breakfast to days ago, and had only noticed that the food was untouched when dinner of that same day came around. Juzo and Torako and even Ossama himself had gone to try and talk to him, but to no avail. He only continued to lay there silently, not even responding in the slightest to their words. At the rate things were going, she was legitimately afraid that he would starve.

"Hey mom." The sound of her youngest son's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Renzo and Ryuji came into the kitchen together, making a beeline right for her. "Mom, is dinner going to be ready soon? We're starving." Kayako nodded, biting the inside of her lip as she tried to hide her feelings from the children.

"Yes, dinner will be ready soon, so be patient you two. We still have to finish cooking the fish and serving up the rice. Plus we still have to bring Konekomaru his food..." She mostly whispered this last part to herself. So she didn't expect it in the slightest when Renzo said,

"We'll take it to him." Kayako started, then narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Are you just using this to take a look at him? Konekomaru is not some freak show for you to gawk at Renzo!" Her son stepped back, hands raised defensively. Luckily for him, Ryuji came to his aid.

"We're not Mrs. Shima! We just wanted to do you a favor since you're so busy!" Kayako stared at them for a moment, but sighed and shook her head.

"Oh, alright. I suppose we could use the extra help." She placed the small portions onto a tray and gave it to them with a warning wag of her finger. "But if either of you eat any of that you're in big trouble, you hear me?"

"Yeah, we hear you mom," Renzo said over his shoulder. The two boys left the kitchen with the food, headed for the place where the other boy lay.

–

Konekomaru remained curled up under his sheet, side of his face pressed into his pillow. His hands curled up loosely in front of his chest. It was true, he had stopped eating. He felt no hunger anymore. He had been slowly eating less and less, until this point now, when he didn't feel the desire to eat at all. He knew that the adults and others were worried about him, that was the only thing he didn't like. Konekomaru never wanted anyone to worry about him. He just wanted to stay curled up there and sleep. That was all, not much to ask. He was already thin, so it was no worry to him that he was losing weight.

A scuffling noise sounded from outside the door. He held back a silent sigh, _It must be Juzo or __Mamushi with food_, he thought blandly. He didn't feel hungry again, he was already thinking about just leaving the food. He let out a soft breath, ready to feign sleep again when whoever it was came in the door.

"Hurry up, Bon, this thing is heavy."

"Hold on just another moment. I'm opening the door." Konekomaru could feel himself freeze. Though he didn't hear them very often, he recognized those voices. It was those other two kids from the temple, Ryuuji and Renzo. The memory of Ryuji's glares and Renzo's indifference towards his presence had shaped an opinion within him that neither liked him very much, so he tried his best to stay out of their way.

_Why would they be here?_ He thought with a bit of worry. _They have nothing to do with me, did they come here to mock me?_ That had to be it, they would have no other reason to be there. The thought of them watching him, judging him, was almost too much to bear. As the door rattled open, he ducked his head under the covers and did his best to be still, so they wouldn't know he was awake. If it worked, they would just think that he was asleep and leave, it always did the trick with Mamushi or Juzo, so it had to do the same for them.

"Hey," Renzo said aloud, presumably to him, "we brought you dinner." Konekomaru was careful to keep his breathing under control, keeping a steady, deep rhythm of in and out breaths. There was a quiet clinking as Ryuji set down the tray. "Hey! Did you hear me?" Renzo persisted.

"Give it up, Shima, he's probably asleep. Let's just leave it here for him and go." Konekomaru almost felt the urge to smile when he heard Ryuji say this. It was just what he wanted, after all. Still, there was some deeper feeling within him, something that let a pang through his heart at the same time.

"I know he's awake, Bon, I just know it. Heeey!" He said louder to Konekomaru. "You awake?" He tried speaking loudly a few more times, but got no answer from the smaller boy. Under his blanket, Konekomaru could hear some more talking in whisper form from the two, though he couldn't make out what was being whispered. Just as he finally thought they were going to leave, he let out a muffled cry as something fairly large and heavy landed on top of him. He squirmed weakly under his blanket until he managed to pull it away from his face. Only a couple of steps away from him, Ryuji had just knocked Renzo over the head.

"What was that all about?! What on Earth made you think it was a good idea at all to jump on top of him like that?!" Ryuji asked with a loud voice. Renzo shrugged, rubbing his head.

"See? I told you he was awake," was all he said. Suddenly, they both looked at Konekomaru, making him freeze up like a deer in a pair of headlights, eyes wide with a sudden type of fear.

Whatever Bon and Shima had been expecting, they never thought it would be this. What they saw in front of them wasn't any marvelous thing or important-looking person. It was just a boy about their age, so thin that his clothes were bagging on him, looking positively terrified. He clutched his blanket in his hands as if it was a shield, holding it up over his mouth to hide a part of his face. Bon sent another glare in Shima's direction before looking back at Konekomaru.

"We, uh, brought you some food," he said a bit awkwardly. After a moment, Konekomaru seemed to let his muscles relax, at least to the point that he didn't look frozen with fear.

"Um... thank you," he finally responded with a thin voice that was nearly a whisper. He eased himself so he was lying back down on his bed. "You can just...leave it there. I'll eat it later." A quiet breath escaped him as he pulled the covers half-way over his face, and he waited for them to leave again so he could rest quietly and peacefully.

"You know, everyone's really worried about you." Konekomaru was a bit surprised to say the least when he realized that Ryuji was addressing him. Peeking over the edge of his blanket, he glanced at the blurry outline of the other boy. "We've heard our moms talking about you, they want you to eat, why don't you?" Konekomaru didn't know what to say, so he remained silent. Ryuji didn't seem to like this, so he took something off the plate, a piece of fish, and shoved it in front of his face. "Come on, eat! You've got to be hungry."

"No..." Konekomaru whimpered, though he still managed to keep the food from passing his lips. "No...please... stop..." He was whimpering still, like a puppy that was crying from being punished. Still, Ryuji was persistent. "Please stop it!" He finally cried out. Shaking with effort, he sat himself up and mustered all he could into a glare at them. "Why won't you both just leave me alone? Why do you keep on trying to hurt me?" Ryuji and Renzo glanced at each other, confused.

"Hurt you?" Renzo asked. "Why would we do that? We just want to talk."

"Why? You have nothing to do with me. You've never even spoken to me until now." Ryuji raised an eyebrow at him, though Konekomaru couldn't see this.

"Well, you never stick around long enough for us to get a word out to you. You always just bow and run away every time you see us." Konekomaru was still holding his ground, though his shaking didn't help much.

"So then, why are you always glaring at me every time I come near you." Now it was Ryuji's turn to be confused.

"I glare at you?" Renzo chuckled from where he had made himself comfortable, cross-legged on the tatami-covered floor.

"Ah, he's not glaring at you. That's just what he always looks like. I swear he was born glaring." Ryuji shot a look at him and Shima laughed again and pointed at him. "See? Just like that." Konekomaru obviously couldn't see, but he felt himself start to relax his tense muscles a bit. "Anyways, I was wondering. Why do you keep yourself cooped up in here all the time? Our parents have been talking about it for weeks." Konekomaru looked down at his blankets, avoiding looking at their faces.

"Well, I just haven't been feeling well," he mumbled. "I want to get better, but I just can't seem to get over whatever it is." He touched his palm against his own chest, feeling his own heartbeat.

"Maybe it's because you're not going outside," Renzo suggested. "I mean, you're really pale and skinny. You should eat more too. I don't know how you're not eating, I get hungry if I don't eat for a few hours." Renzo rambled on for a moment before Ryuji shut him up with a clock to the noggin. Konekomaru watched with an unintentionally grim expression on his face. When they caught a glance of how he looked, they became confused even more.

"Why're you looking so sad? Is something wrong?" Renzo asked. Konekomaru only looked at him, more blankly than before. He shook his head listlessly to show that he was fine, but the boys didn't buy it. Ryuji picked up another piece of fish from the plate (the first one had been dropped on the floor and was dirty) and held it out to the thin boy.

"Come on, eat. You want to get better, right? So you've gotta' eat so you can get stronger." Konekomaru stared at the blurry piece of fish flesh that was held out in front of him. Ryuji held a serious face, but that broke out into a grin when a tiny hand finally reached out and took the food from his hand. He kept on grinning as Konekomaru began to nibble at it slowly. "Yeah! That's it! See, like this you'll be better in no time!"

Konekomaru looked at them, feeling a bit lighter for the first time in quite a while. His face felt a bit funny, and it took him a full minute to realize that he was smiling.

–

Story's not done yet, more to come still. Stay tuned everyone! We are nearing the conclusion! Thanks once again to all reviewers, I hope you stick around until the grand finale!


	26. The End Part 1

Konekomaru giggled as he tossed the ball that was being played with up into the air. On the other side of the field, Ryuuji caught it with outstretched arms, then passed it on to Renzo. Konekomaru stopped to adjust his new glasses, as the frames had slid down his nose during their play.

It has been two years since Konekomaru had fallen into his depression and was visited by these same two boys. Since then, the two had been visiting him every day while he was still ill. Slowly, he began eating again. He was gaining more weight and was closer to the weight of a child his size. Eventually, he was able to pull himself out of bed, and now here he was, able to play in the sunshine with the two other boys who had helped him. The elders had decided, for the boy's health, that it would be for the best to not go back to the over-working that was forced upon him before. So, to prevent a relapse, they lightened his responsibilities to give him more time to act like the child he was. Now, he was any other healthy, happy child.

–

Konekomaru clutched a paper bag that held a carton of milk and a little cloth-covered bento box to his chest as he hurried his legs to keep up with Yaozo and the rest of the family heads. As the temple had affiliated itself with the True Cross Exorcist's order, it was required for all of the heads to attend a meeting to introduce themselves and their temple to the head of the order, Sir Mephisto Pheles. To be entirely honest, the small boy was nervous about the whole thing. This was the first time he had been a part of something so big and important for the future of the temple, and he still wasn't sure that he was ready for that large of a responsibility.

Still, here he was, walking the halls of the True Cross Order whilst moving his legs as quickly as possible to keep up with the elders. He was constantly pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, as they kept on sliding down from his rushed pace. He didn't want to tell them to wait, though, but he also didn't want to fall behind. The True Cross Exorcist leading them had looked at him strangely when he had first seen him, and he didn't want to do anything to stand out. So, he quietly rushed along to follow them. The sound of objects hitting the floor caught his attention.

"Damnit! Crap!" He stopped and looked over in the direction of the noise. A teen girl with fiery red hair and blonde tips was on her knees, hurriedly picking up scattered papers and books. A boy with long blonde hair held back with a hair tie stood behind her. He was laughing aloud at the girl.

"Wow, you sure are clumsy, aren't you, Shura?" His voice was filled with sarcasm and mockery. The girl didn't even take a second to glare at him as she fired back a retort.

"Stuff it, blondie!" The blonde boy snickered and went off down the hall.

"Better hurry up, or else you'll be late~"

"Screw off!" The boy disappeared into a door, leaving the girl to gather up her things. "Damn jerk-ass! Who the hell does he think he is?" She muttered under her breath, alternating between frustrated swears and muttered threats to the boy. "I swear, when I get my hands on that guy, I'm gonna'-" she paused mid-sentence as a large amount of her papers and the last of her books were handed to her in a neat pile. "Hah?" She looked up, and saw a little boy with a shaved head and large glasses holding them out to her.

"Um, here, I think these are yours." He was looking at her kindly and good-naturedly. Shura raised an eyebrow, but took her things from him nonetheless.

"Eh... thanks," she muttered. She stuffed them into her bag and stood up. "Man, you just saved my ass, kid. I don't think I would have made it on time if you hadn't come along. She took off down the hall, waving her hand back at him as she went. "Hey! If I ever see you again, I owe you big time!" She skidded in front of a door, flung it open, and disappeared inside as she slammed it shut behind her. Konekomaru stood there for a moment, then turned to continue following the rest of his group. He let out a slight 'oh' when he realized they were nowhere in sight. He made worried noises as he looked to and fro, trying to figure out which way they may have gone. However, there was no clue whatsoever as to which door they went through or which direction they went.

_What do I do now?_ He wondered worriedly. _I've lost them, and I'm lost. _After standing in the middle of the hall for a moment, he sniffled and went to sit against one of the walls. _I guess I'd better just stay put, that way they can find me._ He slid down onto his bottom, placed his bento on the ground next to him, and pulled his knees up to his chest. He stifled another sniffle, and swiped a hand across his eyes. _Why am I so teary-eyed? I thought I was used to being alone,_ he thought with some confusion. However, he knew this was not true. As he had gotten better, he found that he craved other peoples' company more and more. He hated being alone now. And being away from the ones who cared for him, in a place that was strange, it made his eyes feel hot and his throat tight.

He sniffled again, and he was just wiping his eyes when he heard a sort of grumbling noise coming from somewhere close to him. He moved his hand away and found himself looking at a strange little green creature with a red tail, arms, and horns. His eyes widened as he realized what it was.

_One of the creatures._ He adjusted himself so he was on his knees, facing it, and held out a hand to it. "H-hello there," he whispered gently, not wanting to startle it. The thing stared at him, then warily edged closer to him. It was finally so close that he could have pet it if he wanted. He suddenly remembered something he had found about these creatures when he was younger. He reached into his little bag and pulled out the milk. He pulled it open and held the lip out to the creature. It stared warily, sniffed, then dipped its' tongue into the carton. It took the milk from him and guzzled it down, spraying a few droplets as it did so. Konekomaru giggled gently as the comedic scene. The carton empty, the creature came closer and sat next to him. It didn't struggle or resist as he picked it up and held it in his lap. He pet a hand between its' horns and giggled as it made a noise similar to a purring cat.

A gasp drew his attention upwards. He looked and saw a boy about his age standing a few feet down the hallway. The boy, who wore glasses just like him was staring at him with wide eyes, hands clasped over his mouth. A bit nervous, Konekomaru raised a hand and waved it slowly. Apparently bored, the creature grabbed his arm and gave it a playful little nibble. The other boy made what sounded like a terrified squeak and raced down the hallway, disappearing into one of the doors and slamming it behind him. Konekomaru forgot about him in a moment, though, as he giggled as the creature was cuddling in his lap. He sat there like that, feeling a sense of happiness, though he was still separated from his elders.

"See! He's right there Father!" Konekomaru started and looked up again as he heard the voice. He saw the boy with the glasses who had run off just a moment ago. He was pointing a finger at him and was hanging onto the sleeve of a man dressed in black. Upon seeing the man's clothing, a long, black overcoat, he squeezed the green creature to his thin chest. Though it had been a couple of years ago and his vision had been blurred, he would have recognized that kind of clothing anywhere.

"Hello there little one," the man surprised him by speaking gently, but he still refused to let his guard down. The man knelt before him, and he saw that he wore glasses as well. "What are you doing here?" Konekomaru hung his head against his chest.

"I got lost, and now I can't find the people I was with. So I sat here and I'm waiting." He habitually rubbed the head of the creature in his arms, right between its' horns. It responded in a pleased sort of way and cuddled against him. The boy standing behind the old man was still frightened. "Are you going to kill this one, too, sir?" The old man smiled gently and shook his head.

"No, I'm not going to kill this one, it seems harmless enough." He took the little creature by one of its' appendages and lifted it gently out of Konekomaru's grasp. He set it down gently off to the side and it scurried off without a single look back. The old man stood, brushing dust off of his knees. "So, you said you were lost, right?" Konekomaru nodded. "Well then, let's go find your people." He held out a hand to Konekomaru, who looked warily at it before taking it and letting himself be pulled to his feet. Then, being taken by the hand, he allowed himself to be led off.

–

Konekomaru looked at the other boy with glasses as they both sat in chair on the same side of the table. They hadn't spoken yet, and they only looked in the opposite directions out of shyness. Finally, though, the other boy spoke.

"So... what's your name?"

"Konekomaru," he answered softly. "And you?"

"Yukio," was the simple response. Konekomaru nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose. The two boys sat in silence after they introduced themselves. "Hey," Yukio finally said.

"Yeah?" The other glasses-wearing boy looked at him seriously.

"How come you were holding that demon? They're dangerous!" Konekomaru blinked slowly, not understanding.

"A... demon?" Yukio seemed confused by this lack of response, it showed clearly on his face. "I've been around little creatures like that one all of my life, they've never hurt me before. That was really a demon?" Yukio nodded, adjusting his glasses with a serious look on his face.

"Yeah. That was a demon. A hobgoblin to be more precise! They're vicious demons!" Konekomaru was taken aback by the other boy's sudden excited talk. Just as he was about to respond, the old man, who had introduced himself as Father Fujimoto, came back into the room.

"Now, Yukio, don't get too overexcited. The boy probably doesn't know any better." He smiled at Konekomaru as he sat down next to Yukio. "I just talked to one of the other exorcists, they should be able to find the people you were with.." He rested his chin on his hands as he continued to smile. "So, why did you come here, little one?" Konekomaru fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Well, I came here with the heads of family from my temple in Kyoto, they're joining up with the True Cross Order." The old man raised his eyebrows with interest. Yukio wiped his nose with the back of his hand and gazed at him with interest.

"Really? Are your parents the head of your family? Did they bring you here to see what's here?" He motioned to Fujimoto. "Father Fujimoto takes me hear to learn how to be an exorcist, just like him." Fujimoto chuckled and rubbed Yukio's head.

"My, my, this is the most I've ever heard you talk to someone besides your brother." Yukio smiled sheepishly and looked at Konekomaru brightly.

"Well? What about it? Who's the head of your family? Your father? Your grandfather?"

"Me." Yukio halted, blinking with wide eyes like an owl. "I'm the head of the Miwa family, since the rest of my family is gone." Yukio seemed to sober up and lose some of his previous chipper.''

"Oh... I'm sorry." Konekomaru shook his head, smiling softly.

"It's okay, you didn't know." He smiled a bit more, trying to keep happy, thinking of his friends. "Besides, it's a big responsibility, and I can handle it. I'm a monk of Myo-Da after all." Fujimoto's eyebrows went up at the mention of the temple.

"Myo-da? That's where you're from?" Konekomaru nodded, a bit confused by the reaction. "Ah, haven't heard that name in a while. Man, that brings back memories." Konekomaru opened his mouth to ask a question, when he heard a low grumbling noise. He looked to the side of him, and saw Yukio looking away, embarrassed. "Oh, you hungry, Yukio?" Konekomaru felt his own stomach tighten and growl, and he smiled nervously. Fujimoto chuckled and stood up from the table. "Well, it seems we've got two grumblers. Come on, you two, let's get you some lunch."

–

"So, you are the representative heads of the Myo-Da order, eh?" Yaozo forced a smile at the white-clad, purple-haired man sitting behind the desk.

"That's right, Sir Pheles. I am Yaozo, head of the Shima family, and this," he motioned over at Uwabami, who sat to his right, "and this is Uwabami, head of the Hojo family."

"A pleasure to meet all of you," Mephisto greeted smoothly with an open, armed gesture. He placed his elbows on his desk and his head on top of his hands. His eyes slid from side to side, as if examining the group of them. "... Weren't there supposed to be six of you?" Yaozo, taken aback, quickly turned to do a head count. When he stopped, he had indeed only counted five family heads. It didn't even take a moment to realize which one among them was missing.

"Where's Konekomaru?!" He cried out, shooting up from his seat. The rest of the family heads whipped around, seeing the empty seat that should have been filled by the youngest member of them.

"What!? He's gone?!" Uwabami cried out. Yaozo tightly gripped a handful of his hair.

"Craap! When did he disappear?! I never even noticed!" He turned to Uwabami, who had the same frantic expression on his face. "Did you notice?!"

"No! He's so quiet! How could I have noticed?!" Yaozo gripped double handfuls of his hair from the stress.

"Agh! Well, we've got to find him! Do you know what Torako and Kayako will do to us if they find out we lost him?!" He ran to the door, calling back behind him. "I'm heading back the way we came, you all fan out and look in the other hallways!" The rest of the family heads jumped from their seats, racing from the office room and into the halls in search of the young head. Mephisto, left behind in his office, slowly blinked twice.

"Erm... did I miss something?"

–

Okay, I know it has literally been months since I last updated. And for that, I am SO sorry. I let the time get away from me. This story is NOT dead, and I shall have it completed as soon as possible. For all those who are still with this story, please forgive me, and I shall not disappoint you for the conclusion. I send my love to all who have faithfully waited! Please review to give me that last bit of encouragement, if you can.


	27. The End - Final

Konekomaru chewed his food slowly and quietly as Yukio and Father Fujimoto sat across from him. They were sitting in what Fujimoto had told him was a currently unused classroom, enjoying their (rather tasty) lunches. Yukio stared across the table at him as he munched.

"So," he finally said after a swallow, "what's it like living in a temple?"

"Alright, I guess," Konekomaru answered shortly. "I mean, it's probably like living any other place." He picked up another tidbit of food and put it into his mouth. "Well, I guess that's not a very specific answer. There's a lot of monks living there, and we all have our jobs to do. We help to tend to the gardens, pray at our altars, tend to the sick and the worshipers, the usual kind of thing." Yukio nodded, eyes still on him with great interest. Just as it seemed he was about to open his mouth to ask another question, the sound of someone running with great force and speed down the outside corridor drew his attention. As the three looked up, all they could see was someone with a shock of black hair zooming past the window. Yukio blinked once behind his owlish glasses.

"Who was that, Father?" The gray-haired man only raised an eyebrow.

"I...honestly have no idea." Suddenly, the sound of those heavy footsteps came back and the door was thrown open by the same man who had just run by.

"There you are!" he cried out. Konekomaru dropped his chopsticks as he was lifted up from the chair and pressed up against Yaozo's thick torso.

"Yaozo-san?" he managed to mumble out as his mouth was partially muffled. With a small push, he managed to free his face enough so that he could breathe. "What are you doing here?" The man stared down at the child in his arms, flabbergasted.

"What am I doing?! I've been running all over the place for the pasts fifteen minutes looking for you! All of us have!" Konekomaru could tell that his face was surprised, he didn't need a mirror to know this. "Well, ah, whatever, it doesn't matter now. A least now we know you're safe." Looking up, he only just seemed to notice Father Fujimoto standing there. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." Fujimoto, who seemed unphased by the turn of events, merely waved a hand nonchalantly.

"Ah, it's perfectly fine. I can understand how you would feel if I had lost my son here," he said as he placed a hand on Yukio's head. Yaozo only nodded, then glanced over his shoulder and out the door.

"Yes, well, thank you so much for keeping an eye on him until I could find him."

"No trouble at all." He smiled warmly at Konekomaru who, rather shyly, buried the side of his face in Yaozo's chest. "Take care of yourself, Konekomaru. I hope your temple does well in the future." Konekomaru could only find it in himself to nod, and he was then carried out of the room, the door shut behind them. Releasing a heavy sigh, Yaozo shifted his weight and lifted him up higher.

"Well then, come on, Konekomaru. Let's go and meet Sir Pheles."

–

Eight years old, only five years since his view of the world around him changed, Konekomaru had changed a lot more since then. He was hardly ever alone, and he wanted to make sure it stayed that way. He was eating more and was able to take life a bit more easily, finally able to live it like a child, even if it was just for a while each day.

Then, he also learned to hate demons. Since the joining of the temple with the True Cross Order, Mamushi and Juzo has begun to attend the True Cross high school, so as to train to be exorcists. With this, they had brought back deeper lessons on hating the demons who had destroyed their temple. Konekomaru finally understood the creatures' nature, and knew how they were meant to be hated for their destructive tendencies.

He was spending a bit of time by himself, just to pray to his parents. This was one of the only activities he wished to do alone anymore. Just as he was standing after paying his respects, the sound of rustling somewhere to his right startled him. When what was making the noise revealed itself, he let out a terrified squeak and scrambled back. It was a demon, a hobgoblin to be precise. The sharp fangs jutted from beneath its' lips, and wide eyes stared at him as its' tail twitched back and forth. He was terrified, too terrified to even make a sound, let alone cry for help.

It crawled towards him slowly, on feet with sharp nails jutting from the long arms and feet. Then, it stopped at his feet and looked up at him expectantly. They both stood and sat there, only looking at each other. Finally, though, the silence was broken.

"Nii~" Something crawled atop the hobgoblin's head a small green thing that looked as if it were made of plants. The small sound it made jolted the memory and sense back into him, and he collapsed onto his knees.

"I don't believe it..." he whispered. "It's you. It's really you." The demons before him were the demons he had played with when he was little. As soon as he whispered these words, the hobgoblin crawled into his lap and snuggled against him, like it used to do. The little plant-looking one let out more of its' joyful squeaks and leaped onto his face, where it clung and rubbed against his cheek. His hands twitched, almost instinctively he wanted to wrap his arms around them and hug them. Instead, however, he pushed them both off and stood back up. He plucked the smaller one off of his cheek and set it on the hobgoblin's head.

"I'm sorry... but you have to go." The creatures stared up at him, then tried to creep up to him again as they whimpered. Konekomaru shook his head and stepped away again. "No, you both have to go now. You're both demons, and there's lots of exorcists around. They'll try to kill you because you're both meant to kill and destroy things. I know I promised I'd find you, but I can't take care of you anymore. So you both need to go now, do you understand?" He pointed a finger off into the distance, and they followed it with their eyes before looking back at him. He kept pointing until, finally, the hobgoblin turned and began trundling off with the plant demon riding along on its' head. They both looked back at him, just once more, before going on until they disappeared from sight.

He watched them slowly go, never moving an inch. When they finally disappeared, he raised up a forearm and wiped it across his eyes. Taking in a breath, he turned away from the demons and walked back to the temple, leaving the last of his childhood behind.

* * *

><p>And here is, at last, the end. I would like to thank all who have waited and been patient with me until this very end. I hope you may enjoy some of my other stories, but if not, I'd be happy if you had only enjoyed this one. Thank you so much, and goodnight.<p> 


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